Finding Myself: Outsiders: Book Three
by Freakwithnoname
Summary: Softkit is warm-hearted and kind, even to the Rogues that lurk outside ShadowClan territory and take their prey. They don't know who these cats are or what they want. Has StrikeClan returned? Or are these just outsiders? *Book One: Storm Rising, Book Two: Downcasted, Book Four: The Fierce Crusade*
1. Allegiances

**Please note that Outsiders is not the first book in the series. Storm Rising is the first book, then Downcasted is the second book, and Outsiders is the third book. Before reading Outsiders it is highly recommended to read those two first but it is not a requirement. Thank you!**

* * *

 **ALLEGIANCES**

SHADOWCLAN

LEADER **BEESTAR** -white she-cat with black ears

DEPUTY **RAVENCLAW** -black tom with light eyes

MEDICINE CAT **WHISPERSONG** -gray she-cat with green eyes

WARRIORS (toms and she-cats without kits)

 **YARROWFUR** -ginger tom with yellow eyes

 **COMETMOON** -black tom with white paws and tail tip

 **SLATELEAF** -sleek gray tom

 **WHITEEYES** -white tom with blind blue eyes

 **SHADOWCLAW** -gray tom with a white tail-tip and blue eyes

 **STONEFANG** -gray tom with green eyes

 **CLUMSYSTEP** -black tom

 **MUDSTORM** -brown tom

 **MOONSHINE** -gray she-cat with green eyes

 **CREAMSKY** -cream-furred tom

 **FANGCLAW** -black she-cat with sharp claws and teeth with green eyes

 **RAINDUSK** -brown tabby tom with blue eyes

 **AMBERPOOL** -brown she-cat with amber eyes

 **APPRENTICE, FALLENPAW**

 **SUNCLAW** -yellow she-cat

 **OAKSTORM** -brown tom with amber eyes

 **APPRENTICE, SNOWPAW**

 **SPRINGLEAP** -black tom with long legs

 **NIGHTSNOW** -black-and-white she-cat

 **APPRENTICE, FROSTPAW**

 **HOLLYPATH** -black she-cat with green eyes

 **APPRENTICE, FEATHERPAW**

 **LIONFUR** -yellow she-cat with amber eyes

 **WINTERSKY** -pure white she-cat with light blue eyes

 **DOVESONG** -white she-cat with brown eyes

APPRENTICES **SNOWPAW** -small pure white she-cat with green eyes

 **FALLENPAW** -gray tabby tom with blue eyes

 **FEATHERPAW** -silver she-cat

 **FROSTPAW** -white she-cat with blue eyes

QUEENS **YELLOWBIRD** -yellow she-cat, mother of Flamekit(golden tabby tom) and Duckkit(creamy yellow tom with yellow eyes), adopted mother to Softkit(fluffy white she-kit with green eyes)

ELDERS **SLEEKFEATHER** -yellow she-cat with blue eyes

 **FLOWERSTEM** -yellow she-cat

 **BIRCHWING** -beige tom

THUNDERCLAN

LEADER **BRAMBLESTAR** -dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

DEPUTY **IVYPOOL** -silver–and-white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes

MEDICINE CAT **JAYFEATHER** -gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes

 **APPRENTICE, GINGERLEAF** (ginger she-cat with amber eyes)

WARRIORS **SPIDERLEG** -long-limbed black tom with brown underbelly and amber eyes

 **BIRCHFALL** -light brown tabby tom

 **BERRYNOSE** -cream-colored tom

 **MOUSEWHISKER** -gray-and-white tom

 **CINDERHEART** -gray tabby she-cat

 **LIONBLAZE** -golden tabby tom with amber eyes

 **DOVEWING** -pale gray she-cat with blue eyes

 **ROSEPETAL** -dark cream she-cat

 **POPPYFROST** -tortoiseshell she-cat

 **SNOWBUSH** -white fluffy tom

 **BLOSSOMFALL** -tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

 **BUMBLESTRIPE** -very pale gray tom with black stripes

 **AMBERMOON** -pale ginger she-cat

 **DEWNOSE** -gray-and-white tom

 **HOLLYTUFT** -black she-cat with amber eyes

 **FERNSONG** -yellow tabby tom

 **SORRELSTRIPE** -dark brown she-cat with blue eyes

 **CHERRYFALL** -ginger she-cat

 **MOLEWHISKER** -brown-and-cream tom

 **ALDERPELT** -dark ginger tom with amber eyes

 **SPARKFLOWER** -orange tabby; the spitting image of Firestar, as a she-cat

 **LEAFPELT** -tan she-cat

 **LEAFMOON** -tortoiseshell she-cat

 **BREEZEWHISKER** -tortoiseshell she-cat

 **WHITEFUR** -fluffy white tom

 **HONEYBLOSSOM** -white she-cat with yellow splotches

 **FROZENPELT** -white tom

 **APPRENTICE, PETALPAW** (creamy golden she-cat)

 **HONEYFUR** -golden she-cat

QUEENS **DAISY** -cream long-furred cat from the horseplace

 **LILYHEART** -tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

ELDERS **BRACKENFUR** -golden brown tabby tom

 **CLOUDTAIL** -long-haired white tom with blue eyes

WINDCLAN

LEADER **CROWSTAR** -dark gray tom

DEPUTY **EMBERFOOT** -gray tom with two dark paws

MEDICINE CAT **WINDFLOWER** -brown she-cat

WARRIORS **SLIGHTFOOT** -black tom with flash of white on his chest

 **NIGHTCLOUD** -black she-cat

 **GORSETAIL** -very pale gray-and-white tom with blue eyes

 **LEAFTAIL** -dark tabby tom with amber eyes

 **OATCLAW** -pale brown tabby tom

 **HEATHERTAIL** -light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

 **BREEZEPELT** -black tom with amber eyes

 **SMOKEFUR** -gray she-cat

 **LARKWING** -pale brown tabby she-cat

 **MOLEFUR** -pale brown tom

 **BRINDLECLAW** -mottled brown she-cat

 **DUSTYPELT** -brown she-cat with blue eyes

 **BARKWIND** -brown tom

QUEENS **SEDGEWHISKER** -light brown tabby she-cat, Mousekit(small gray she-kit) and Dirtkit(light brown tom)

ELDERS **FERNTAIL** -gray tabby she-cat

RIVERCLAN

LEADER **MISTYSTAR** -gray she-cat with blue eyes

DEPUTY **HERONWING** -dark gray-and-black tom

MEDICINE CAT **WILLOWSHINE** -gray tabby she-cat

 **APPRENTICE, FOGPAW** (tortoiseshell tom with amber eyes)

WARRIORS **CURLFEATHER** -pale brown she-cat with blue eyes

 **PODLIGHT** -large gray-and-white tom

 **MINTFUR** -light gray tabby tom

 **MALLOWNOSE** -light brown tabby tom

 **DUSKFUR** -brown tabby she-cat

 **MOSSPELT** -tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes

 **PERCHWING** -gray-and-white she-cat

 **PETALFUR** -gray-and-white she-cat

 **MINNOWTAIL** -dark gray she-cat

 **ICEWING** -white she-cat with blue eyes

 **FOXPELT** -russet tabby tom

 **PRICKLECLAW** -white she-cat with amber eyes

 **SHADESTREAM** -dark brown she-cat

 **LARKFUR** -brown she-cat

 **STORMHEART** -tortoiseshell tom

 **MISTEYES** -red she-cat with blue eyes

 **NIGHTMIST** -black tom

 **SILVERSTONE** -beautiful silver she-cat

 **APPRENTICE, SKYPAW** (gray she-cat with blue eyes)

 **DAPPLESTREAM** -gray she-cat with amber eyes

QUEENS **SHIMMERPELT** -silver she-cat

ELDERS **HAVENPELT** -black-and-white she-cat

CATS OUTSIDE THE CLANS

 **LUNA** -pale gray she-kit with amber eyes

 **DARKNESS** -black tom with a white stomach, father to Luna

 **SUMMER** -orange-and-white she-cat, lives with Whither

 **WHITHER** -silver tabby tom with a torn ear, lives with Summer

 **ROMAN** -white tom with blue eyes

 **MAPLE** -black, ginger, and white tortoiseshell she-cat

 **HARVEY** -brown tom with sharp claws and teeth


	2. Prologue: Death Comes For All

**PROLOGUE**

 _The snow was falling lightly from_ the darkened sky but the clearing was busy with activity. Sleekfeather, Birchwing, and Flowerstem were sitting outside the elders den, Yellowbird was standing beside Yarrowfur watching their two kits, Flamekit and Duckkit, playing with their adopted kit, Softkit. Softkit was brought into camp by Whispersong many moons ago, the kit was a rogue. The apprentices, Featherpaw, Fallenpaw, Snowpaw, and Frostpaw were at the edge of the clearing talking quietly, Whispersong was bringing her herbs into her den, Sunclaw and Lionfur were eating together outside the warriors den, Clumsystep, Whiteeyes, and Wintersky were exiting for a hunting patrol while Dovesong led in Raindusk, Slateleaf, and Cometmoon for a ThunderClan border patrol. Just in time.

"Ravenclaw?" a unfamiliar voice made him jump and he turned to see Frostpaw gazing up at him with shining blue eyes. "Nightsnow said you had something for me to do?" Her head was tilted but she seemed excited and her tail was twitching back and forth.

He nodded at her, admiring her clean white pelt that blended in well with the snow. "That is correct. I was hoping you could check the elders for ticks." He flicked his tail towards the elders outside of the den.

Frostpaw smiled warmly. "Oh, of course Ravenclaw!" she purred and turned away, padding right over to the medicine den for herbs.

Ravenclaw watched her go, quite intrigued but Beestar padded up beside him and he looked at the white she-cat with black ears and nodded at her. "The Clan is thriving, Beestar."

Beestar looked at him with tired eyes. "You're a good deputy, Ravenclaw." She gave a small smile to him. "ShadowClan is the strongest Clan, every cat knows it." She gazed at her Clanmates with pride. "However, ThunderClan is rising up next to us and if they realize that Bramblestar might take advantage…" She looked at Ravenclaw with curiosity. "We should patrol that border more."

He nodded at her. "Of course, Beestar. Bramblestar is Tigerstar's son. He might get some ideas." He twitched his ear at the thought. _Bramblestar is just like Firestar. He won't attack us_ , he thought but didn't speak out loud. _But he is Tigerstar's son and Tawnypelt did turn evil._ Ravenclaw shook away the thought.

"Thank you," Beestar mumbled and rose to her paws, slowly padding to the elders. She always spoke to them when she needed help. They had still been having problems with badgers lately. Beestar had closed off that side of the camp.

Creamsky bursted into camp, his eyes wide, Fangclaw and Oakstorm bursting in after. Creamsky had a nasty gash on his shoulder and they look completely ruffled.

"RiverClan cats have crossed our border!" Creamsky gasped and fell to the ground. "We confronted them and they attacked us! We managed to get away!" His fur bristled and Whispersong padded over to him with herbs in her jaws.

Ravenclaw bared his teeth. "What? Who was it?"

"Heronwing, Petalfur, Lakefur, Nightmist, and Dapplestream," Oakstorm growled and his tail lashed. He looked furious. "It was definitely not an accident. They're getting worried about the weather."

Beestar took in a big breath. "They should be raiding WindClan territory. Something isn't right," she mewed slowly and looked over at Sleekfeather curiously. "I will lead a patrol into their camp and confront them. Lionfur, Oakstorm, and Yarrowfur you're coming with me." The white she-cat led the three warriors out of camp.

Ravenclaw glanced up at the sinking sun. They would be back when the moon came up. "Okay everyone, get to your nests," he ordered and watched his Clanmates slowly trail back to their nests, glancing back at the entrance as if they expected Beestar to burst back in.

He padded to the warriors den and slipped inside, slipping past Wintersky and Stonefang and settled down into his nest. He curled himself into a ball and listened to the silence of the camp and the slowed breathing of his sleeping Clanmates.

With ease he let himself drift to sleep.

 _"Do not be afraid, death comes for all eventually," a soft voice mewed and then there was a pause. "I will make sure it is not painful."_

 _Ravenclaw opened his eyes. Darkness was all around him but he could faintly make out the large trees above him and the bushes around him. In front of him he could see some light and he slowly inched forward curiously. Was he in StarClan?_

 _"Do not worry, Redthistle. I am not afraid of death," mewed an even softer voice. It sounded familiar but he couldn't identify who it was. "I will do anything to protect my Clan."_

 _He reached the clearing and peeked through the bushes, managing to see an unfamiliar dark ginger she-cat with stars in her fur. Her amber eyes flashed at a cat who was hiding in the shadows. Ravenclaw could tell it was a she-cat and she was rather small but he couldn't make out anything else._

 _The cat known as Redthistle smiled at the unnamed she-cat. "You are very brave and I am very proud of you. I'm sorry it has to be this way."_

 _Another cat entered the clearing. She was a snowy-white cat and her clear blue eyes sparkled in the light. She too, had stars in her fur. "Redthistle, we must go. The sun will be rising soon." He knew this cat as Sagewhisker. He had never met her but he knew she trained Yellowfang, a medicine cat of both ShadowClan and ThunderClan._

 _"Of course, Sagewhisker." Redthistle dipped her head to the unnamed she-cat. "Remember,_ when the crow calls, flames will rage _." And then the dark ginger she-cat faded._

 _"I wish you good luck and may StarClan light your way," Sagewhisker mewed gently and she faded as well._

 _The unnamed she-cat sat upright and she turned and looked to where Ravenclaw was hiding, her green eyes flashed and Ravenclaw let out a yelp, falling backwards._

Ravenclaw sat up in his nest, his heart pounding in his chest as he gazed around the warriors den. No one stirred. Who was the she-cat with the green eyes? What did the prophecy Redthistle give her mean? And why was she to die?


	3. Chapter 1: Perspective

**CHAPTER ONE**

 _A glimpse of sun shone through_ the clouds up above but the sun still fell at a very slow pace. The wind had died down from last night and it was rather warm for the snow to be sticking to the ground. It all melted overnight. It was nice on the paws, however.

The clearing was busy as Ravenclaw rushed across the clearing to Whispersong who was sorting herbs carefully outside her den. Beestar was standing next to Shadowclaw and Wintersky, all of them talking quietly, Featherpaw, Fallenpaw, Hollypath, and Amberpool were leaving camp for a training session while Snowpaw and Frostpaw were cleaning out the elders den, throwing the dirty moss at each other, Sunclaw led in the sunhigh patrol consisting of Springleap and her father, Yarrowfur.

Yarrowfur wasn't really her father, however. She was a rogue according to Yellowbird, her adopted mother. But she didn't really mind it, it just meant she was different.

"Softkit?" mewed her brother, Flamekit, who was now standing beside her outside the nursery. His tilted head and golden tabby fur seemed to jump out at her. "Yellowbird wants to greet Yarrowfur all together. Are you coming?"

She smiled warmly at him. "Of course!" Flamekit was the kindest cat she knew. He always stood by her, even when his real littermate, Duckkit, was mean to her. He always stood by her side.

Flamekit returned the smile and watched as the large yellow she-cat exited the nursery with Duckkit following after her. Yellowbird smiled down at Flamekit and Softkit before leading the way over to their father.

The ginger tom watched them, his yellow eyes shining in amusement. Softkit looked nothing like Yarrowfur, Yellowbird, Flamekit, and Duckkit. Her pelt was white and she was very fluffy. She blended in with the snow very well.

"There you are," Yarrowfur purred softly and licked Yellowbird on the muzzle. "You all look ready for some practice training." He looked down at his three kits all lined up in a row. Flamekit was in the middle.

Softkit raised her head high. They were almost five moons old now and Yellowbird said Yarrowfur had already requested mentors for them. She couldn't wait.

"Teach us!" Duckkit mewed, jumping up and down with excitement. Softkit wanted to copy him but she knew she was almost an apprentice and she needed to act like one.

Their mother and father laughed at him. "Okay, watch me," Yarrowfur ordered and dropped down into a low crouch, with his tail low to the ground but just barely above it, his back legs seemed to take all of his weight so he could pounce easier. "Now you try." He got back up.

Softkit dropped down, letting her belly fur brush the cold snow and letting her tail hover over the snow, she shifted so her back legs carried all her weight and then pricked her ears and parted her jaws; Snowpaw had taught her the last one.

"Very nice Softkit," Yellowbird mewed, pointing with her tail to her and Yarrowfur nodded in agreement. "Duckkit you don't want your tail on the ground, you could rustle leaves or bushes."

Yarrowfur watched his kits with proud eyes. "Very nice stance, Flamekit," he praised and then glanced over at Yellowbird. "Our kits are born warriors."

She felt herself burst with pride. _He said_ our, she thought with satisfaction. Softkit was only a few days older than Flamekit and Duckkit but they'd be apprenticed at the same time.

"Don't be too sure," mewed an unfamiliar voice and Softkit turned her head to see their medicine cat, Whispersong standing a tail length away, gazing at her with soft green eyes. "One of them may want to become a medicine cat apprentice."

Duckkit snickered loudly. "Yeah right! Who wants to become a medicine cat apprentice? It's so boring!" The creamy-yellow tom looked at Softkit and smirked. "Maybe this kitty-warrior would. She's so soft and weak."

Her eyes widened at Duckkit. _Kitty-warrior?_ She was surprised at his new insult. It was usually something like 'mousebrain' or 'rogue' or sometimes even 'crow-food'. His names never got to her though. But this one did.

"Watch your mouth!" Whispersong suddenly snapped and Softkit lowered herself to the ground, flattening her ears on her head. She bumped into Flamekit who wrapped his tail around her. "Don't let him speak to her like that," Whispersong mewed to Yellowbird and Yarrowfur who seemed surprised at her outburst as well.

Neither of them spoke as Whispersong padded away at a brisk pace. She seemed furious and Softkit wasn't sure why. She was probably crazy, being as she had to stay in camp most of the time but Softkit felt sorrow for the pretty gray she-cat.

"Go to the elders," Yellowbird ordered them and nodded her head to the elders den. "Yarrowfur and I are going for a walk." She turned away and Yarrowfur followed her.

Flamekit glanced at Duckkit as he huffed and padded over to Sleekfeather, Birchwing, and Flowerstem. "Are you okay?" Flamekit whispered to her as they slowly walked over to the elders.

Softkit nodded her head, although she wasn't sure it was true. "His insults mean nothing to me," she responded. _With the exception of him calling me a kitty-warrior_ , she thought glumly and sat down in front of Sleekfeather, feeling Flamekit settled down beside her and Duckit was on her back, listening intently.

"...led us over the thunderpath and through the pines and we eventually found the second camp. Beestar was a great leader, she was very brave. She explored it and even confronted rogues that passed by," Sleekfeather was mewing with warmth. "Beestar, however, did not like that the Clan was separated in two and her first objective when she became leader was to get rid of the pine hunters and outgoers."

She pricked her ears in interest. She knew Beestar had problems when she was a kit, she was always excluded and that's why she was such a kind and fair leader. ShadowClan had never had a leader like that.

"Flamekit, Duckkit, Softkit!" Whiteeyes called and Softkit pricked her ears and turned to see the white tom padding over to them. "Yellowbird told me to get you in your nests. They'll be back shortly." He flicked his tail towards the nursery. "Come on now."

Softkit was the first one to stand up and she jumped over some snow and led the way to the nursery, hearing Flamekit, Duckkit, and Whiteeyes following after her with their paws crunching in the snow.

Inside the nursery was warm but it was empty and Softkit dreaded having to sleep in her nest. She reluctantly climbed in, Flamekit climbing in the one beside hers and Duckkit in the one beside Flamekit's,

Whiteeyes checked to make sure they were in their nests and smiled. "Sleep well kits," he purred and then slipped out of the den.

Her green eyes flicked to Flamekit. His eyes were closed and rest on the side of his nest. His chest was falling and rising slowly. "Are you asleep?" she whispered and poked him with her tail.

"No," he mumbled and glanced over at her. "Why?"

She stood up in her nest and jumped into his, curling up beside him and burying her face in his pelt. He let out a mrrow of amusement and curled around her.

His warmth instantly made her sleepy and she purred softly and let sleep overcome her.

Sunlight washed down into the den and Softkit opened her eyes, blinking and waiting for her eyes to adjust to the lighting. She glanced down at the cold nest beside her, seeing Flamekit wasn't there. She noticed Duckkit and Yellowbird were missing too.

She rose to her paws and stretched her legs before stepping out of the nest and padding to the entrance. The light wind hit her hard and she shivered, seeing the snow was falling lightly from the sky and Yellowbird, Yarrowfur, Duckkit, and Flamekit were all in front of the nursery playing in the snow.

"Softkit!" Flamekit squealed and bounded over to her. "You didn't wake up this morning and we wanted to play," he confessed and pawed at the snow on the ground.

Yellowbird looked at Softkit warmly. "Why, I do think Lionfur will be joining us in the nursery." She flicked her tail over to the yellow she-cat who was eating with Creamsky. They were smiling warmly.

Lionfur and Creamsky. Softkit was surprised. "Isn't Lionfur a little… old?"

Duckkit snickered at her. "All she-cat should have kits, mousebrain!" he spat at her and rolled his eyes. "Our Clan needs to be strong and brave and powerful. For that we need more warriors, which means we need kits." He eyed the yellow she-cat curiously though.

Their father glanced at Yellowbird but said nothing to Duckkit. "Lionfur will be okay, as long as she stays healthy and doesn't run off into battle," Yarrowfur mewed to Softkit with a calm voice.

Her pelt prickled with doubt. Lionfur was too old to be having kits. "If you say so…" she mumbled and looked over at Flamekit who shrugged.

"Go on and play. Yarrowfur and I are going hunting," Yellowbird mewed and turned away, leading their father out of camp.

Softkit scoffed quietly and turned to Flamekit. "What do you want to play? Maybe Frostpaw will teach us some battle moves."

Flamekit looked disappointed. "I'd rather just lay under the hazel branch and stay out of the snow." He picked up a paw that was covered in the snow. "My paws are going numb."

She laughed at him and then was cut off by Duckkit ramming into her. "And stay down!" he growled, looming over her.

Her mind raced and she realized what was happening: She was on the ground and she could feel throbbing in her side. "Get off me, bee brain!" she mewed to Duckkit and pawed him away while she rose to her paws.

"I said stay down!" he snarled and rammed into her again.

The air was knocked out of her and she fell to the ground, feeling the pain again in her side.

"Duckkit!" a voice growled and Softkit opened her eyes to see Whispersong stomping towards them. She looked furious. "Get away from her!" She picked Duckkit up by his scruff and tossed him aside. "Here?" she mewed softly and placed her paw on Softkit's stomach.

She gasped softly as more pain flooded her. "Y-Yes," she whispered and Whispersong nodded. Softkit relaxed and let the medicine cat look her over. Her side was burning in pain. "What's wrong with it?"

Whispersong smiled at her. "Don't worry at all. It's just a pain. It'll go away in a few moments. Just relax." Whispersong's green eyes sparkled at Softkit and she could feel something come from her, something she'd only felt from Flamekit before. Was it caring? Love?

Softkit sat up, swallowing heavily as the pain faded. "Thank you, Whispersong," she purred and smiled at the medicine cat.

"Of course, Softkit," she mumbled, meeting her gaze steadily. Then, something seemed to happen and Whispersong jumped up. "I'll see you later." And she rushed away without another word.

Flamekit licked Softkit's cheek. "Are you feeling better?"

She nodded, unable to respond as she watched Whispersong disappear through the entrance of camp. _That was weird_ , she thought silently. _What're you hiding, Whispersong?_


	4. Chapter 2: ShadowClan

**CHAPTER TWO**

" _Now, Roman!" he hissed and watched_ the white tom race across the ground, his blue eyes narrowed as the dog snapped its jaws at his tail but Roman barely escape. He jumped up onto the first branch of the tree and climbed up to where he was sitting on the third branch.

"Maybe next time you mutt!" Roman yowled down at the dog and looked at him with excitement. He was young, he'd learn eventually. "Thanks, Darkness."

Darkness flicked his ears at Roman, watching the dog try to climb the leafless tree. "He won't ever get you as long as I'm around," he promised and rose to his paws. "Let's head back. Maple, Harvey, and Luna probably miss us," he mewed, half-jokingly as he walked along the branch and jumped into the next tree. The branch shook when Roman jumped onto it too and he had to dig his claws into the branch to stop himself from falling.

They continued along in silence, hearing the dog barking underneath them. They wouldn't be bringing him back to Harvey, Maple, and Luna, they'd lose him under the fence.

He looked back at Roman and nodded and the white tom looked uneasy but nodded as well. Darkness sprinted along the branch and jumped into the nest tree, seeing the shiny fence and the tiny hole that they slipped underneath to get to safety from the mutt.

Taking a deep breath he jumped down from the tree and instantly raced towards the hole, hearing the dog yap in excitement and it's paws pounded on the floor. He easily slipped under the fence and watched Roman climb over it carefully since the dog was focused on him.

"Come on, Darkness!" Roman called and Darkness blinked, looking away from the dog and looking at Roman with uneasy. "Luna's probably hungry." Roman padded away and Darkness glanced over at the dog who was still attacking the fence and then he raced after Roman.

The nest they lived in was at the end of the thunderpath where monsters would regularly go on but they were easy to dodge since they went super slow. The abandoned twoleg nest was sitting silently as they padded inside, seeing Maple and Luna were crouched down and Luna lashed out her paw and hit the black, ginger, and white tortoiseshell she-cat on the shoulder. A well-aimed blow. Harvey's scent was faint.

"Hey that's enough," Darkness mewed, waving his tail at them. "It's time to eat." He watched his daughter, Luna, perk up. She was big for her size. She just turned seven moons but she looked like a full grown cat already. And she should; they fed her better than anyone else and some nights Darkness would go hungry so she could grow. Her pale gray pelt quivered as she raced over to Darkness and he instantly remembered her mother, whose pelt matched hers in the exact way.

He shivered in fear and then smiled at his daughter. "Did you have to deal with Butch again?" she asked casually, glancing outside of the den with a sparkle in her eye.

Roman jumped to his paws when Lena spoke. "Yeah we did, that old mutt is way to easy to trick!" he purred in amusement and looked at her with soft eyes.

Darkness stopped himself from snapping at Roman. He'd been keeping his eyes on Luna since the day she was born. "Harvey's not back yet?" he interrupted, looking at Roman with cold eyes.

"No. He left after you did, remember?" Maple mewed, her yellow eyes glazing over. "It will take a while to hunt for all of us."

Annoyance clawed at Darkness but he bit his tongue. "I'm going to check on him," he mewed firmly and turned away from the cats in the twoleg nest. "Let's just hope the Clan cats didn't get him," he mumbled as he slipped out of the den and stepped out onto the cold snowy thunderpath and padded along it, his ears pricked for sounds.

Everything was relatively quiet as he continued, turning around the corner and continuing along the thunderpath. This is about where the two kittypets, Whither and Summer, would come to relax along the fence or play with one of the smaller dogs. They'd sometimes come and play with Luna but they mostly kept to themselves.

He could hear the dogs attacking the fence as he passed by but it didn't bother him. He could see the pine trees up ahead where one of the four Clans roamed and the small forest before it where they hunted. He picked up Harvey's scent now.

"Harvey?" he called and narrowed his eyes as he pushed forward, listening for a response but getting nothing.

Padding through the quiet forest, still following the brown tom's scent he began to notice that the prey in the forest was very limited. They'd have to start eating the rats that sometimes intruded their twoleg nest.

"D-Darkness!" a shrill yowl made Darkness perk up and he raced forward towards the Clan's border as Harvey's scent got stronger, his panic grew.

And then he bursted into a small clearing and the blood smell clogged his nose as he looked around, spotting Harvey crouched down low facing three other cats he didn't know.

"What is going on here?" he growled and stomped forward with anger. "Who are you?" he asked the cats and instantly recognized the Clan smell. Did Harvey cross the border?

A gray tom looked at Darkness, his blue eyes flashing. "This mousebrain crossed our border! We caught him stealing prey! We had to chase him out."

There was a brown she-cat and a small gray tabby tom alongside him. The gray tabby tom looked as old as Luna.

Harvey looked at Darkness. "They clawed my ear off!" he snorted and showed Darkness his bleeding ear. "Stupid furballs!"

"We apologize for crossing your border," Darkness mewed, stopping himself from attacking one of the cats. "Now get out of our fur," he hissed and turned away, hearing Harvey scuffling after him. "How much did you catch?"

The brown tom chuckled. "Just enough for all of us to eat tonight, Darkness." Darkness could feel Harvey's fear growing as they padded on in silence. "I didn't mean to cross their border. I saw a blackbird and remembered that was Maple's favorite."

Darkness shook out his fur, listening to the crunching of the snow under his paws. "They punished you enough with that torn ear. Maple won't be happy," he told Harvey calmly as they passed where the dog was still attacking the fence, trying to get to them.

Silence continued as they rounded the corner and continued on along the thunderpath. A monster rolled by slower than usual but didn't seem to pay any mind to them. A light breeze made the air colder and Darkness held in a shiver, trying to remain silent.

The twoleg nest was just ahead and Darkness picked up his pace until they were right outside of it. He took his opportunity as he let Harvey enter first to examine the prey he had caught: a blackbird, a mouse, a scrawny vole, a small squirrel, and another mouse.

"Harvey, you're back!" Maple purred as Darkness slipped in after him. "And you're bleeding," Maple gasped and turned away, grabbing some cobwebs to soak up the blood. Maple's mother was a Clan cat, one of the ones that worked with herbs. But when many battles were happening between two clans Maple's mother, Mossheart, left her in the twoleg place to save her life. Maple got her instinct from her mother after learning so much about herbs and plants. They all had to learn the herbs as well.

Luna grabbed the squirrel and vole from Harvey and raced over to Roman and they began to eat. Darkness quickly choked down one of the mice and then went to his nest in the darkest corner of the den. It was made out of bracken and feathers. Not the comfiest thing in the forest but it got him to sleep.

He listened to Luna, Roman, Harvey, and Maple's hushed voices as they ate and he could hear Luna laugh quietly and then Roman mewed something. He heard walking and then silence.

Now that silence was in the nest he put his tail over his nose and let sleep come over him.

"Darkness! Darkness!" hissed a hushed voice in his ear and his eyes flickered open, recognizing his surroundings and the white tom in front of him.

He instantly sat up, looking into Roman's familiar blue eyes. "What is it? Is Luna okay?"

Roman's eyes flashed in panic. "Luna is fine. It's the twolegs. They're coming this way! Maple, Luna, and Harvey are leaving now." He pointed with his tail up at the hole in the ceiling where they agreed they'd go to escape the den. He caught scent of Summer. "Summer and Whither are helping."

Darkness nodded, grateful the tom got his daughter out first and he rose to his paws, racing to the moss growing on the wall and watched Roman climb it. He heard a dog bark and he leaned a little to see a light flash by the entrance. Fear flooded him. They were here.

Quickly, he jumped up the moss and climbed directly behind Roman, reaching one of the wooden things that helped hold up the den and they balanced on it, slowly going to where Maple was crouched down waiting for them.

"Hurry now, they're entering the den!" Maple hissed, her yellow eyes full of worry. "You remember what happened to Red don't you?!"

The fear flooded in faster as Maple disappeared from the hole and Roman jumped through and then Darkness struggled up through it, watching the light fade. They were on the roof of the den now. Luna was sitting next to Summer, they were whispering quietly. Whither and Harvey were leaning over the ride of the roof, looking down on the twoleg inside their den and Maple was looking at Darkness.

Where would they sleep tonight? He knew it was up to him to decide and the last thing they were going to do was go to a twoleg nest and sleep with the kittypets. He held in a gag of disgust just thinking about it. Red flashed in his mind. Red was Maple's daughter. They were escaping from twolegs no more than three moons ago when the twoleg threw a rock at her. Darkness was too worried about his own kit and Red ended up going last. She fell to the ground and died on impact.

Maple almost sacrificed herself to save her kit but Harvey wouldn't let her. They came back for her later that night and Maple nearly lost it. She hadn't mentioned Red since then until now.

"Are you okay?" Darkness mewed gently, placing his tail on Maple's shoulder.

She shook a little and he could see the sadness in her eyes but she nodded. "I'll pull through, don't worry," she promised and he watched her blink away the tears.

Summer stood up on the roof. "You could come sleep in our nest tonight?" she suggested, her green eyes sparkling.

Harvey was now standing beside her, nodding. "Sounds like a good, safe place, Darkness. Don't you think?" he asked, his head turning to look at Darkness with hard eyes.

There was silence while Darkness thought. "Safe? With the twoleg in there? I think not," he disagreed and looked at Whither. "You see that forest over there?" Whither nodded. "I remember seeing a badgers den. Have you seen it before?"

The silver tabby shrugged. "Once or twice," he mewed in his deep voice. "Don't remember seeing any badgers over there neither."

"That's where we're going to sleep tonight," Darkness mewed firmly, glancing at his denmates confidently.

Harvey cleared his throat loudly. "I think I'll sleep with Summer and Whither tonight. Haven't been inside a real twoleg nest since…" He glanced over at Maple who shivered. "Meet up here say, at sunhigh?"

He felt uncomfortable splitting up like this. They'd never slept apart but Harvey was clearly mooning over Summer. "Fine," Darkness agreed hesitantly and padded across the roof to where a branch almost touch it. He jumped on it and padded across with ease, feeling the branch wobble a few more times as Maple, Roman, and Luna got on followed by the kittypets and Harvey.

They reached the ground in no time and led them towards the forest at a fast pace, eager to rest again. Harvey and Summer were chatting quietly at the back of the ground, Luna and Roman were behind him, talking about the twolegs, and Maple and Whither were padding behind Luna and Roman silently.

Darkness turned the corner to where the kittypets lived and he stopped at their fence, watching Harvey say goodbye to Luna, Roman, and Maple and then he jumped over the fence with the two kittypets.

"Let's hurry up," Darkness mewed and picked up the pace, almost running along the empty thunderpath towards the forest, remembering the way with ease.

The darkened sky made him shiver and the moon high in the sky made him worry. He hoped Harvey was okay. He wouldn't know until tomorrow. Darkness glanced behind him to see Roman and Luna had fallen silent and everyone look exhausted.

Once they'd reached the abandoned badger's nest he let Maple, Luna, and Roman enter before he laid in the entrance of the nest, listening to them shift around and get comfortable.

Soon, the sounds of movement stopped and he could hear the light breathing of his friends. He let his eyes close and sleep drift over him.

 _"Darkness?" a soft voice startled him. It was unfamiliar and he opened his eyes, seeing an unfamiliar snowy-white she-cat standing in between a dark gray tom and a dark brown tabby tom. They were all looking at him. "Do not be alarmed. I am Sagewhisker, this is Cedarstar and Raggedstar."_

 _He looked around wildly, seeing a clear, cloudless blue sky above him and bushes surrounding them. There were no trees but he could see other cats passing by them with prey in their jaws. Something was weird about their fur though. He turned back to Sagewhisker, noticing something shiny in her fur. Was it stars?_

 _The dark gray tom Sagewhisker introduced as Cedarstar stepped forward with calming amber eyes. "I was the leader of ShadowClan. Sagewhisker was my medicine cat and Raggedstar was my deputy. You are in the Clan's ancestral hunting grounds, StarClan. We need to speak with you."_

 _Darkness stared at them. Was this a joke? "W-What do you need to speak with me about? I'm not a Clan cat. I've left them alone."_

 _"We know. We've been watching. You're on a good path, Darkness. Always trust your instinct," Raggedstar mewed in a rough voice. "When the crow calls, flames will rage," he mewed and then padded away from him with Cedarstar and Sagewhisker slowly following after._

 _"What?" he called after them, confused. "Is that a warning? Are the Clans coming for me?" He lashed his tail when they disappeared and watched the hunting grounds around him collapse into the ground._

He sat up, breathing heavily. The sun was beating down on him and the familiar breathing of his friends were gone. He felt his heart leap in his chest and he jumped to his paws, looking behind him to see the badger's nest was completely empty.

"Luna?" he mewed, whipping around and running out of the nest, smelling the air. He smelled a Clan cat. "Who's there?" he growled, looking around and baring his teeth. The badger's nest was right beside the Clan's territory.

A squeak of surprise startled him as two younger-looking cats slipped out of the bushes. One was a small white she-cat and the other was a silver she-cat. They were probably just as old as Luna.

"You have a good nose for a kittypet," the white she-cat mewed with a tilt of her head, her green eyes sparkling. "You're the kittypet from yesterday, aren't you? The one who attacked Fallenpaw."

Darkness blinked in confusion. Fallenpaw? "I'm not a kittypet," he huffed and scented the air, but the Clan scent was too fresh. "And I don't know who Fallenpaw is."

The silver she-cat giggled, looking up at him with interest. "Fallenpaw is a gray tabby tom, one of our Clanmates. I'm Featherpaw and that's Snowpaw." She flicked her tail at the white she-cat. "We're apprentices of ShadowClan."

He shrugged them off and pressed his nose to the ground, hoping to catch a scent of Luna, ignoring the Clan cats who were watching him.

"Are you looking for that pale gray she-cat? The one called Luna? She went with two other cats to get… Oh what was his name? Harvey?" Snowpaw asked, looking at Featherpaw with thought.

At the sound of his daughter's name he perked up. "You saw them?" Darkness asked, looking at the two she-cats. "When did they leave? How long have you been watching us?"

"Oh, probably about dawn," Featherpaw mewed simply. "Our mentors sent us out to check the borders and we got bored."

"I don't care," he growled and looked up at the sun to see it was almost sunhigh. They'd be back any second. "Get back to your Clan!" he snapped.

There was silence as he listened but the two cats didn't move to go back to their Clan. The snow under paw was light and powdery, he knew this leafbare wouldn't get worse than this.

"You're awake!" Luna purred and rushed over to Darkness, stopping once she saw the two Clan cats. "What're they doing here?" she growled darkly.

Harvey, Roman, and Maple padded over to him as well, glaring at the Clan cats with anger. They were not friendly towards the Clan cats.

Featherpaw straightened, tilting her head. "Well don't be so hostile. We could rip your ears off," she chuckled, looking at Harvey with triumph.

"Featherpaw! Snowpaw!" a loud voice echoed through the trees and into Darkness' ears. "Where are you?"

Darkness glared at the two she-cats. "Sounds like you're needed. You should go," he mewed, keeping his voice from trembling in anger.

Snowpaw stared at Darkness silently as Featherpaw scrambled away. Then she stood up and raced after the silver she-cat.

"Oh, Darkness, you'll never guess what happened!" Harvey mewed but Darkness only nodded, tuning out his voice as he rambled on.

The warning given by Cedarstar, Sagewhisker, and Raggedstar rang through his ears, he could practically hear their voices chanting, _"When the crow calls, flames will rage."_


	5. Chapter 3: The Saviors

**CHAPTER THREE**

 _A soft crunched made Softkit prick_ her ears. She listened to Duckkit sneak around the nursery to pounce on Flamekit. He wasn't very good at being quiet but Flamekit didn't suspect a thing. He was laying right where Duckkit wanted, playing with a mossball.

She listened as the soft crunching noise made it to the edge of the den. And then Duckkit pounced right onto Flamekit's back. He let out a startled yowl and rose to his paws, trying to throw Duckkit off but he held on tight.

That is, until Flamekit rolled onto his back, crushing their creamy-yellow brother. Usually, Softkit wouldn't speak to Duckkit but she was bored of being stuck in camp all the time. Any day now Beestar would make them apprentices.

"Don't play with the moss!" Fallenpaw whined and snatched the moss from Flamekit, shaking his head. "I'll claw your ears off just like I did that kittypet!"

A quarter-moon ago, Fallenpaw was challenged at the border by kittypets and he fought back, tearing up the kittypet's ear pretty bad.

A strange smell washed over Softkit and she turned her head to see Yellowbird and Yarrowfur enter camp, leading in a gray she-cat she'd never seen before, a dark gray-and-black tom she'd never seen before, and a gray tabby she-cat she'd never seen before. Nightsnow and Frostpaw took up the rear.

"Mistystar, how may I help you?" Beestar mewed, facing the strange she-cat with Ravenclaw and Whispersong at her side.

The cat named Mistystar shifted awkwardly. "Twolegs having invaded our camp, we aren't sure what for. Usually they leave us alone during leafbare. RiverClan is wandering our lands helplessly…" she mewed, struggling for words. "We were hoping you'd take us in."

 _RiverClan? Mistystar?_ Suddenly, it clicked in for Softkit. Mistystar was the leader of RiverClan and she was asking for their help. Usually they were enemies.

Beestar looked at Mistystar for a good heartbeat. "Whispersong, Ravenclaw, Sleekfeather, get to my den. Yarrowfur, watch our guests," she ordered and followed the three cats she called out into her den.

Softkit was curious now. Would Beestar take mercy on RiverClan? They were always causing trouble.

"We're going to meet RiverClan cats!" Flamekit purred in her ear and she looked over at Flamekit, puzzled. "Come on, Beestar wouldn't turn down any cat in need. She is a good and fair leader." He turned back to look at the gray leader who was murmuring to her two accompaniers.

Yellowbird gave a comforting smile towards us but remained at her post, guarding the three RiverClan cats in silence with Yarrowfur.

"Mistystar," Beestar interrupted their conversation. "We all agree that we cannot leave you without a camp. You and your Clan may stay here until further notice."

The RiverClan leader brightened up. "Thank you very much, Beestar! I will fetch my Clan, they're just outside your territory." She rose to her paws and the other two cats followed after her as well as Yellowbird and Yarrowfur.

"Sleekfeather, Flowerstem, Birchwing, please switch to the nursery until the RiverClan cats can leave. Featherpaw and Snowpaw will help you move your nests," Ravenclaw mewed firmly and watched the two apprentices raced towards the older cats.

Softkit felt fear and excitement shiver through her body. She got to meet another Clan before she was apprenticed. But then again, they were another Clan. They were foes, not friends.

"Duckkit, Flamekit, Softkit, let's get to the nursery," Sleekfeather ordered, hurrying them into the den while Featherpaw and Snowpaw set down their nests on the ground.

She settled down in her nest, enjoying the warmth of the nursery, listening to Sleekfeather tell a story to her littermates. She let herself sleep to the sound of her voice.

"I'm Skypaw," the gray she-cat purred, her blue eyes shining in excitement. "Fogpaw is my brother." She flicked her gray tail to where a tortoiseshell tom was standing next to the gray tabby she-cat from yesterday she now knew as the RiverClan medicine cat, Willowshine. They were talking to Whispersong.

"I'm Softkit," she squeaked. "This is Flamekit and Duckkit, my littermates." She hesitated with the word littermates but decided not to try and explain it to her. "We should be apprentices any day now!"

Skypaw smiled warmly. "Hopefully today. Maybe we can train together!"

Her head tilted. "Yeah…" _Maybe today_ , she thought and looked over at Beestar who had been talking to Yellowbird for quite a while. She hadn't thought about it really, Yellowbird had been talking to Beestar a lot lately.

"I call a Clan meeting!" Beestar suddenly yowled and every cat, RiverClan and ShadowClan, looked up at her with interest. "As you know, RiverClan will be staying with us for as long as needed. However, that will not stop Mistystar or myself from doing ceremonies. Softkit, Duckkit, Flamekit, please step forward."

Softkit felt her heart pounding as she padded through the crowd of cats, keeping her eyes locking onto Beestar who jumped down from the hazel branch.

"Flamekit, from this moment on, you will be known as Flamepaw. Whiteeyes, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You will be mentor to Flamepaw." Beestar looked at Whiteeyes who stepped forward. "Whiteeyes, you have shown yourself to be a strong and intelligent warrior. Do all that you can to pass on what you know down to Flamepaw."

They touched noses and moved to the edge of the clearing.

Beestar turned to Duckkit. "Duckkit, from this moment on, you will be known as Duckpaw. Dovesong, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You will be mentor to Duckpaw." She waited for the she-cat to step forward. "Dovesong, you have shown yourself to be brave and courageous. Do all that you can to pass on what you know down to Duckpaw."

They too touched noses and moved away.

Finally, Beestar turned to Softkit. "Softkit, from this moment on, you will be known as Softpaw. I will mentor Softpaw. I have been a fair leader and I am inspired to train her," she mewed and stepped forward, stretching her nose to touch to Softpaw's.

She hesitated, her whole body trembled. Beestar is my mentor! she thought in excitement and then stretched her nose up to touch Beestar's.

"Flamepaw! Softpaw! Duckpaw!" the Clan cheered with RiverClan calling quieter.

"Another thing," Beestar mewed, waving her tail for silence, "Lionfur is moving to the nursery with Creamsky's kits."

The yellow she-cat smiled as there was some yowls of approvement, Sunclaw's and Creamsky's was the loudest.

"Beestar, Flamepaw wishes to explore the territory together," Whiteeyes mewed, now standing beside us with his blind blue eyes looking directly at Beestar.

The leader seemed to think for a heartbeat and then nodded. "Very well, let's go." She whisked away and padded through camp, her paws leaving pawprints in the snow.

We hurried after her, Whiteeyes and Beestar led us through the pines calmly, the two mentors mumbling quietly.

"Beestar is my mentor," Softpaw whispered, feeling her excitement bubbling up. "I wonder if Yellowbird picked her or if Beestar picked herself…" Her eyes flashed at the thought and she glanced over at Flamepaw.

He seemed chipper too. "Whiteeyes may be blind but he's a great hunter!" he purred in satisfaction. "He's also very wise." His smile widened. "I can't believe Dovesong got Duckpaw. He'll never get use to her calmness and patience," Flamepaw snickered.

"This is the ThunderClan border," Beestar mewed, cutting off their whispers. "ThunderClan is a very proud Clan, especially when Firestar was their leader. He was always poking into ShadowClan business." Her eyes narrowed, as if she knew everything about Firestar.

Whiteeyes chirped in, "ThunderClan, however, is brave and courageous." He glanced over the border, as if he was once apart of the Clan.

Beestar cleared her throat awkwardly, setting off away from the ThunderClan border, the snow not seeming to bother her but Softpaw could feel herself growing cold, tired, and hungry already.

"We are approaching the RiverClan border," Beestar mewed, veering off towards the lake. "As you know the twolegs have invaded their territory so be very careful." She kept her pace but crouched down. Whiteeyes, Flamepaw, and herself copied, focusing on her footing.

It got louder as they neared the fishy smelling territory and she could already see the twolegs. They were throwing things at each other and picking up the snow, disturbing the RiverClan cats territory.

Whiteeyes suddenly mewed, "RiverClan has caused problems for ShadowClan in the past as well, mostly in leafbare when the river and lake is frozen. They are strong and good swimmers. They're the only Clan that likes water." He shrunk down when a twoleg shouted something and glanced behind him. They hadn't noticed the four cats.

"Let's get back to camp," Beestar mewed, keeping her eyes on the twolegs. "We'll finish exploring the territory tomorrow." She quickly padded away from the border and we followed after her.

Duckpaw was already in camp when we arrived. Yarrowfur took Silverstone and Skypaw on patrol to show them the territory. Lionfur was lounging outside the nursery with Creamsky at her side and Ravenclaw was meowing quietly to them. Whispersong, Willowshine, and Fogpaw were outside the medicine den sorting herbs in a clear spot from the snow.

"Get something to eat and head to your nests," Beestar mewed to Softpaw and Flamepaw. "You're probably exhausted."

Flamepaw dipped his head and raced to the fresh-kill pile but Softpaw mewed, "Thank you, Beestar!" And then hurried after him, feeling her stomach rumble at the sight of a mouse on the pile.

Her brother inhaled a lizard while she ate her mouse and he licked his whiskers clean.

"Today was exciting," he purred as she swallowed a bite. "We became apprentices and traveled half our territory!" He jumped up and down as he thought about it.

Softpaw finished her last bite and sat up, watching him in amusement. "It'll get more exciting when we start hunting and battle training," she mewed and turned towards the apprentice's den, breathing deeply as she padded over to it.

"Softpaw? Flamepaw?" Frostpaw called and Softpaw stuck her head in, seeing the only one who wasn't in their nest was Duckpaw. "We made your nests, right there." She pointed her tail to the nests in between herself and Fallenpaw.

She slipped inside and went around Snowpaw's sleeping body and laid in her nest, watching Flamepaw take the one beside Fallenpaw.

The den was warmer, but not warmer than the nursery. "Thank you, Frostpaw," Softpaw murmured and curled up in a tight ball, letting her tail rest on Flamepaw's shoulder for comfort and closed her eyes, letting herself drift to sleep.

The snow underpaw and the rising sun almost woke Softpaw all the way up, the cool breeze helped too, but her paws were sore from the day before as they trekked through territory unknown to Softpaw.

Beestar was leading the patrol with Nightmist and Icewing following after her and Softpaw slowly trailing along. They were on the dawn patrol because Beestar wanted her to explore the territory so they could practice a hunter's' crouch later.

"That is the twoleg nest, dogs generally roam around her but because of the snow they'll most likely stay inside," Beestar explained, walking past the dark nest. "We're going to check the border where Fallenpaw had the encounter with the kittypets." She seemed worried about the rogues and frequently sent patrols over that way.

Nightmist seemed interested. "Isn't that the border where the StrikeClan cats lived?" he asked simply, watching the she-cat.

She glanced back at the black tom. "Yes, it is. Ravenclaw has suspicions StrikeClan is coming back for revenge," she explained briefly.

Softpaw had heard of the StrikeClan cats. Rogues and kittypets joined together under exiled former deputies, Crowstar and Tawnypelt. They camped in ShadowClan's secondary camp until we chased them out, losing Puddleheart, Grassheart, Spikefur, Junipernose, and Twigstreak.

Icewing's fur bristled. "Those kittypets will get themselves killed if they think they can mess with us again!" she declared and lashed her tail in anger.

Softpaw admired her ferocity towards the kittypets but she had her suspicions as well. They couldn't be part of StrikeClan, Fallenpaw said they had no form like a Clan cat. He also said he only saw four of them, but Ravenclaw wasn't convinced.

"This is the border with the rogue territory. Through this forest there is a twoleg place." She nodded through the trees but Softpaw couldn't see anything. Beestar heavily marked the border and then continued on.

But Softpaw gazed over the border, she couldn't smell anything but she felt watched.

"Hello?" she called out.

The bushes rustled and a pale gray she-cat slipped out of the bushes, crouched low to the floor. She didn't cross the border though.

She tilted her head. "You're a Clan cat?" she mewed quietly, looking around curiously. "What's a StrikeClan?"

"Are you one of the kittypets that was attacked the other day?" she asked, looking at her ear but noticing she wasn't injured.

"No," she mewed, her amber eyes glowing in worry. She wasn't much older than Softpaw. "I'm Luna. My father is worried about your kind hurting us…" Luna shivered in fear. "Please keep your Clan away from us. Please," she pleaded.

Softpaw nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, I'll help you." She oddly trusted this cat. She didn't know her at all, just her name. But something about her made Softpaw want to help. "Come back in two sunrises at dawn," she whispered and pricked her ears. "I have to go now."

Luna nodded in agreement and Softpaw raced away, following Beestar's scent. They hadn't even noticed she wasn't with the group. Her mind remained on the little gray she-cat as Beestar continued to show her the territory.

 _I must help her! Her life depends on it!_


	6. Chapter 4: That's Not Us

**CHAPTER FOUR**

" _They're marking their border very frequently._ Do you think they're scared of us?" Maple asked, staring out into the pine trees, the light breeze blowing through her fur and blowing snow around them. She looked worried.

Darkness shrugged, glancing over the border as well. "Unlikely. They are used to rules and formalities and fighting techniques, we don't have any of that," he mewed honestly and looked back to the tortoiseshell cat. "Let's get back to the badger nest." He turned away from the border and led her towards the badger nest, where they decided to stay since the twolegs now new they slept in the abandoned twoleg nest.

He heard Maple scurry after him. "You know, Roman has taken a liking to Luna," she pointed out, glancing at him with question. "You haven't shut it down yet."

"Yet?" He was a little puzzled. "Roman is a good tom. I've known him since he was born." His tail shivered as he remembered the death of his mother, Lila. "If Luna wishes for him to be her mate, than so be it."

Maple snorted quiet but said nothing more as they slipped two bushes and into the snowy clearing where Luna, Roman, and Harvey were play fighting. It looked like Harvey was winning, but that was a given.

"You want to use their unbalance for assistance," Harvey mewed as he jumped away from Roman's paw. "And also want to be ready for anything," he purred and raced forward, knocking Luna off her paws.

Darkness cleared his throat loudly and the three cats turned towards him. "That's enough," he mewed gruffly, looking at Luna who rose to her paws. "We need to do something about the Clan cats that keep crossing in this territory and threatening us."

Harvey instantly starting glowing with excitement. "I say we wait for a border patrol and ask to speak with their leader!"

There was complete silence as Darkness stared at Harvey, his mind whirling.

 _We very well could do that. Myself and Harvey could go, they won't attack us_ , he thought and then nodded in agreement with Harvey. "Let's go." He turned away and quickly padded towards the border, hearing the brown tom hurrying after.

At the border they waited, Darkness watched the sun rise high in the sky as time passed. He wanted to know when patrols were sent out for future reference.

"What're you doing here?" an unfamiliar voice spoke and a large black tom padded to the border, his white paws directly in front of it. A gray she-cat, a russet tabby tom, and a red she-cat slipped in after him.

They looked like two different groups of cats. The large black tom and the gray she-cat seemed dark and eerie while the russet tabby and red she-cat had glossy pelts, like they'd been swimming. They seemed like a much happier group.

"I am Darkness, this is Harvey. We come in peace," he mewed in a non-hostile voice. "We wish to speak with your leader." He kept his tail for lashing. He was use to giving orders but he couldn't to these cats.

The large black tom eyed him carefully. "I am Cometmoon," the tom mewed and turned to the rest of the group, "That is Moonshine, Foxpelt, and Misteyes. Please follow us. And don't try anything," he threatened and Darkness watched his claws slide out.

Silently and quickly they padded through the pines, in the middle of the group of cats who seemed very antsy at their presence.

He could smell a mix of cats now, some smelling different than others. It was very strong as they padded around a bramble and the large black tom slipped through two brambles and Darkness was shoved in after him.

Now he understood as he gazed around a large camp. There were cats everywhere, some of them eyeing Harvey and Darkness but most of them didn't seem to have a reaction.

Four more cats slipped in behind them with prey in their jaws, each one glancing at the rogues in curiousity.

"Cometmoon, who are our guests?" a white she-cat with black ears sat in the middle of camp with a gray she-cat next to her. They looked important, probably the leaders.

Now Moonshine spoke up, "This is Harvey and Darkness. They wish to speak with you, Beestar."

Beestar, the white she-cat, stiffened slightly. "Well speak then," she ordered, wrapping her tail around her paws and calmly looking at them.

Darkness stepped forward, standing tall. "I have come to realize that your Clan, Beestar, is frightened of us. I am not sure why, however. We are a bunch of rogues living outside your territory. We mean no harm to you," he mewed loud and clear, feeling every cat in the camp turn towards him, looking hostile. "Even now your Clan is hostile towards us and we've only come to talk. You're the one who sent your cat to attack Harvey's ear." He glanced around the clearing and spotted the gray tabby tom who seemed proud of himself.

She tilted her head, seeming to be intrigued by his words. "Darkness, is it?" He nodded at her. "I wish to introduce Mistystar, she is the leader of RiverClan. Twolegs have invaded her territory and she and her Clan are staying with us for the time being. Each and everyone of us have had to deal with loners, rogues, kittypets," she spat out the words like it tasted bad on her tongue. "Not too long ago a group of cats were living on the other side of that border, bad cats. They were known as StrikeClan, led by a former deputy, Crowstar. We believe you to be part of that Clan, coming back for revenge."

Darkness was surprised. He knew of StrikeClan but never went near them, fearful of what they might do. "Nice to meet you, Mistystar," he mewed and dipped his head at her. "We have also lost a cat to StrikeClan…" Pain clawed in his chest. "My mate, Jasmine. Right after she'd had my daughter Luna, the StrikeClan cats caught her…" He shook his head, barely able to hold back tears. "I will never forgive them for what they have done," he mewed firmly, hearing his voice shake as he gazed into the white she-cat's eyes.

"We lost more than five cats to them," Beestar mewed, her head tilted. "And I cannot trust that you are not apart of StrikeClan, despite your moving story." Her tail twitched and he could tell she was upset. "Neither RiverClan or ShadowClan will bug you unless threatened or attacked first. We will be marking that border frequently, however." Beestar nodded to Darkness. "I'm sorry about your mate."

Darkness nodded, swallowing heavily. "Thank you for your kindness, Beestar."

Mistystar stood up, looking at Darkness with suspicion. "The same goes for RiverClan. Thank you for visiting us today, Darkness." She flicked her tail, as if sending him away.

He turned away from the cats, hearing Harvey padding after. Suddenly, a green glimmer caught his eye and he looked to see a familiar small white she-cat, a she-cat he knew as Snowpaw. She seemed to remember him too and she gave him a small, heart-warming smile. He just nodded back at her an slipped out of their camp.

Quickly, he ran through the pines towards the border, playing through everything that just happened. They thought they were StrikeClan cats? He felt his anger boiling, feeling insulted from being called those monstrous cats.

Beestar seemed interested in him and his group though. _Maybe being apart of a Clan isn't a bad thing._


	7. Chapter 5: Falling Pines

**CHAPTER FIVE**

 _Easily she picked up Frostpaw's scent_ and she silently went around a bush, crouched down low to the ground. She could also faintly pick up Beestar and Nightsnow's scents. They were in the trees above her. She shook her head, knowing she needed to focus.

There was a bramble thicket ahead, she remembered because Beestar clearly pointed out how they could use it for nests. It was covered in snow, a perfect cover for Frostpaw and her white pelt.

Silently, she circled the thicket, smelling around it and picking up her strong scent. She quivered in excitement as she jumped right on the thicket, feeling fur under her paws almost instantly and a yowl of surprise echoed around her.

"How did you find me?!" Frostpaw mewed from underneath Softpaw. "I thought the wind would blow the snow over my scent!" she huffed.

Softpaw scramble off Frostpaw and out of the bramble thicket, watching the she-cat struggle out after her. "Well, first of all, you made the mistake of entering through the back where the wind couldn't blow any snow because the thicket was in the way. And secondly, I have a good nose." She smiled warmly at Frostpaw.

"Very good, Softpaw," Beestar praised, jumping down from the tree Softpaw knew she was in before. "Nightsnow, you should work on downhill and uphill scents with Frostpaw and Duckpaw, they need to enhance their smells," she suggested.

Nightsnow twitched her ear. "I agree, Beestar. Frostpaw, nice hiding though. She would've never found you if it wasn't for the wind mistake," Nightsnow purred and then turned away. "Let's go find Duckpaw and Dovesong." She padded away quickly.

"Bye, Softpaw!" Frostpaw mewed and rushed after her mentor happily.

Beestar turned to Softpaw with a calm face, although she looked pleased. "Frostpaw is well above your level of training, you did very well," she praised again and turned towards camp. "I believe your hunting training it about complete beside your partner hunting. Flamepaw and you can work on that tomorrow." She waved her tail for Softpaw for follow as she slowly made her way towards camp.

"Thank you, Beestar. Not only for the training but for the praise as well," Softpaw mewed, now padding beside her, feeling proud of her progress.

The leader glanced at her, a flicker of worry flit across Beestar's face. "You know I am well aged and although I have very many moons ahead of me, even I fear death," she mewed, keeping her voice steady. Softpaw was confused now. "StarClan will call to me one day, and although I am proud to run amongst my ancestors, I know that I am scared to leave my friends and family." Her ear twitched.

"I-I don't quite understand, Beestar," Softpaw mumbled quietly, keeping her eyes trained on the snowy ground, but she was unable to feel the coldness under her paws. "I am just an apprentice, I have much to learn and death is far off. And anyways, I do not fear it. When my ancestors wish to share tongues with me, I will join them." Softpaw smiled warmly. "Until then, I will proudly run with ShadowClan."

She was nodding slowly. "Just listen to what your heart tells you, Softpaw." Beestar pricked her ears suddenly and Softpaw copied, straining to hear the faint yowl in the distance. They were close to camp but the noise seemed to go around camp and just behind it. "Stay behind me!" she ordered and raced around camp.

Softpaw raced after her, stretching her legs to run faster and feeling panicked. She hoped with all the spirits of StarClan is wasn't the rogues outside the territory that Beestar, Ravenclaw, Mistystar, and the RiverClan deputy, Heronwing thought was StrikeClan.

Just around camp she could hear the whimpering, it sounded familiar and a soft voice was there as well.

"What happened?" Beestar asked as they bursted into the clearing to see a pine tree had fallen and Fallenpaw was directly underneath it, his eyes were closed tightly. Skypaw and Silverstone were there as well. Skypaw was meowing quietly to him and Silverstone had a small branch wedged under the tree.

Silverstone turned to Beestar, her silver pelt glimmering. "F-Fallenpaw saved Skypaw from a falling pine while we were hunting. Amberpool was busy. I-I think this branch is the only thing keeping the tree from crushing his legs…" Her eyes shone in worry.

Beestar seemed to freeze in fear and Softpaw could tell her mind was whirling. "Skypaw, run back to camp immediately. Fetch Ravenclaw, Heronwing, Stonefang, Mistystar, and Shadowclaw. As fast as you can!" she ordered and watched the apprentice sprint away. Then Beestar raced over to the branch and jumped on it. The tree moved a little. "Everyone get on the branch. We have to lift it up high enough for Fallenpaw to wiggle out."

Softpaw quickly jumped on the branch too, but it barely moved. Silverstone put all her weight on the branch as well. It was just barely off the ground and Fallenpaw was whimpering still, his eyes closed tightly in fear.

And then the six cats bursted into the clearing, Skypaw in the lead.

"Quick, on the branch!" Silverstone grunted, watching the cats, without hesitation, jump onto the branch as well. With all of them on it, it lifted high above the ground and Fallenpaw slowly started crawling out. "Softpaw, help him!" Silverstone mewed.

When she stepped off the branch it only wobbled a little and dropped about a hair. She raced over to the tom and looked at him.

"Look at me, Fallenpaw," she mewed softly and his eyes flickered open. She could see the tears. "You can do this. I'm going to help you." She crawled a little under the branch, grabbing his scruff and scrambling backwards, hearing the snow and dirt under her paws going into the hole. They were moving backwards though until she heard the tree fall back to the ground and she fell backwards, resting on the ground.

"Fallenpaw!" Wintersky bursted into the clearing, looking at her kit with wide eyes. She rushed over to him and instantly began licking his forehead and ears. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Softpaw could see her tears too. "Don't worry, Whispersong, Fogpaw, and Willowshine are on their way right now."

Mistystar flopped to the ground, breathing heavily and eyeing the apprentice. "How did the tree fall, Skypaw?"

Skypaw's eyes widened a little. "We-Well, Fallenpaw was teaching me how to climb trees and I got stuck and he… He had to come get me. He barely saved me…" She looked at Fallenpaw with shining eyes but it quickly disappeared when Mistystar gave her a glare.

"We talked about this, Skypaw. RiverClan cats do not climb trees. And for StarClan's sake, Silverstone, how could you let them?!" Mistystar spat in anger.

Ravenclaw stepped forward. "He was only scraped, Mistystar. Everyone else is fine. Do not scold Silverstone or Skypaw for her curiosity," he mewed, looking at the leader with dark eyes. "Thanks to Softpaw he's alright."

She felt herself grow in pride and out of the corner of her eye she watched Whispersong, Willowshine, and Fogpaw enter the clearing. Whispersong was smiling at Skypaw and gave her a nod, like she approved. Softpaw shook her head, pretending she imagined it. Why should you be proud of me? You don't even know me and we aren't even related! But she held her tongue and watched the medicine cats look at Fallenpaw's back legs and back.

Beestar shook out her fur and looked at the gathered cats. "Stonefang, Shadowclaw please help get Fallenpaw back to camp. And everyone get back to camp as well," she ordered and Softpaw rose to her paws, watching Ravenclaw slip out of the clearing as well as the rest of the cats, Softpaw too.

Softpaw walked around camp and to the entrance where Mudstorm, Raindusk, Curlfeather, and Petalfur were exiting camp. Mudstorm seemed uncomfortable and Curlfeather did too.

She walked past them and slipped into camp where cats were sitting all over the clearing and sharing tongues and prey and talking in groups. She noticed that the RiverClan cats seemed to be getting along with the ShadowClan cats.

"Softpaw, there you are!" Flamepaw mewed, padding over to her with a smile on his face. "Where have you been? I think Yellowbird wanted you earlier."

She nodded, itching to talk about Fallenpaw's accident but knowing he'd find out as soon as they walked through the entrance carrying him. "Yeah, thanks," she mewed quietly, watching the entrance for movement and suddenly spotting it. Beestar, Mistystar, Heronwing, Wintersky, Shadowclaw, and Stonefang with Fallenpaw on their backs padded into the camp.

Flamepaw jumped to his paws. "What happened to Fallenpaw?" he asked the group but all of them ignored him and the rest of the cats as they padded through the clearing to the medicine den silently. "Wintersky?" he looked to the white she-cat but she didn't look at him as she scurried alongside her son.

"He was crushed by a tree," Softpaw mewed quietly, glancing over at Flamepaw.

Her brothers eyes widened. "A tree? How is he not dead?" Flamepaw looked back over at the medicine cats den.

Softpaw scratched the earth with her claws. "Silverstone held the tree up with a branch and saved him." She glanced over at the RiverClan she-cat who was laying by the entrance with wide eyes, staring at nothing while Skypaw spoke to her softly.

Flamepaw's eyes narrowed. "A RiverClan cat saved him? Great." His tail lashed in anger and Softpaw was confused. He seemed to notice this. "What if RiverClan thinks we owe them?!" he exclaimed, looking exasperated.

She hasn't thought about that. It did seem like something Mistystar would do. "Let's just hope they don't think that," she mumbled, glancing over at Mistystar who was observing ShadowClan with interest. She's getting so much intel on ShadowClan by being here.

Now Softpaw felt uncomfortable.

"Softpaw!" Nightmist, a RiverClan warrior, was padding towards her happily, as if they were good friends. She'd only spoken to him a few times. "Hey, you hear about Fallenpaw?" He shook his head sadly. "The poor kit…"

Her eyes narrowed and she stopped herself from being rude to him even though he deserved it. "Yep, I did. I was there and he's also my good friend…" She gave him a fake smile, feeling angry.

Nightmist seemed a little taken back at her hostility. "Well yeah, I knew that already…" He looked uncomfortable. "Anyways, Beestar wanted me to take you to do some hunting training…"

Instantly, Softpaw brightened up. "Oh really? Let's go now!" She sprinted out of camp hearing the RiverClan tom struggling after her, her sadness for her friend gone now. She could train!

"As you know, RiverClan cats are more fishers than forest hunters," Nightmist mewed, glancing at her as they padded out of camp and into the pines. "So I'm going to show you how RiverClan cats hunt on land!"

Softpaw barely knew how her own Clanmates hunted on land. How would she learn how RiverClan hunts as well?

"First of all," Nightmist begun, facing her in a small clearing near camp, "you must crouch down low like this." He dropped down into a skillful hunting crouch and she copied, her ears pricked, tail hovering the ground, belly fur barely touching the ground, and muscles bunched up. "RiverClan cats, as you should know, are usually rather plump and slower than other Clan cats but we can be good leapers." He used his back legs to jump up in the air, landing right beside me. "You try."

She turned away from the black tom and put her weight in her back legs like Beestar told her to. Then she jump, concentrating on landing a flower which she landed on neatly, front paws first and then back paws.

Nightmist seemed impressed. "That was very good! You landed perfectly! Beestar has taught you well." His eyes shone in admiration.

"Thank you, Nightmist." She dipped her head respectfully. "Maybe I can learn how to fish one day?" she suggested and offered up a little chuckle.

He nodded once, gazing at her with shining green eyes and a small smile on his face. He blinked and looked away. She could practically feel the awkwardness coming from him. "Yes, well, good training session. We should get back to camp and check on Fallenpaw." He flicked his tail. "You go, I'll catch up."

Softpaw, feeling a little confused, turned away from the odd RiverClan warrior and padded away, through the fluffy green bushes and followed the edge of camp around until she reached the entrance.

"Gather around for a Clan meeting!" a yowl erupted through the camp just as Softpaw slipped inside.

Mistystar and Beestar were seated on the hazel branch with their deputies underneath them, Whispersong, Fogpaw, and Willowshine were sitting outside the medicine den, the elders, both RiverClan and ShadowClan, were seated outside the nursery, and she could barely make out Fallenpaw and Snowpaw's pelt in the crowd of cats. Snowpaw seemed to be helping Fallenpaw sit.

Mistystar spoke first, "We have many ceremonies to do today. I will begin." She stood up on the branch and it wobbled. "Skypaw step forward. I, Mistystar, leader of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Skypaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

All eyes turned to the pretty gray she-cat as she mewed, "I do, Mistystar."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Skypaw, from this moment you will be known as Skyheart. StarClan honors your swimming, spirit, and bravery and we welcome you as a full warrior of RiverClan," Mistystar mewed with shining eyes.

Instantly, both Clans broke out into cheer, "Skyheart! Skyheart!"

Beestar waited for silence. "An apprentice today had a terrible accident, but StarClan spared him. And our own medicine cat, Whispersong, spoke to StarClan and they told her to tell me that this was a sign from StarClan that it was time to do a warrior ceremony. Fallenpaw and Snowpaw, step forward!"

The two oldest apprentices stepped forward, Fallenpaw looked a lot better but she could still see where he'd lost fur and had blood.

"I, Beestar, leader of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have worked very hard to learn the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn." She looked down at the two apprentices. "Snowpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Snowpaw spoke loudly, "I do!"

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Snowpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Snowmask! StarClan honors your strength and kindness and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan," Beestar finished, her eyes shining proudly.

The Clan remained silent for the rest of the ceremony.

"Fallenpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

The gray tabby tom nodded firmly. "I do, Beestar."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Fallenpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Fallenpine! StarClan honors your bravery and courage and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan."

Now the Clans yowled their names, "Fallenpine! Snowmask! Fallenpine! Snowmask!"

Beestar waved her tail for silence. "Due to Fallenpine's condition he will be sitting vigil in the medicine den where the medicine cats can watch over him. Also, Misteyes of RiverClan is moving to the nursery!"

There were some yowls of approvement and Softpaw looked over to see Misteyes definitely seemed plump for a RiverClan cat. She'd be due soon for sure.

Softpaw blinked a few times in confusion. How did she know that? She wasn't a medicine cat and she surely didn't know anything about expecting she-cats! She shook her head and looked away, feeling uneasy.

"Softpaw!" Whispersong was padding over to her at a fast pace. "I heard you went out training with Nightmist earlier. Have you seen him around?" She glanced around the clearing.

She narrowed her eyes a little at Whispersong. "Well, no, I haven't since training. I don't know if he stayed in the training hollow or not. He seemed a little nauseous when I left…"

Whispersong's ear twitched in annoyance. "Well if you see him tell him your mo-" She froze mid-sentence and then cleared her throat loudly. "Just tell him I want him." she mewed quickly and then raced away to the medicine den.

Her confusion continued as she stared after their odd medicine cat. She really was no good with words.

"Softpaw?" a soft called alarmed her and she turned around to see Oakstorm crouched down behind her with worried eyes. He looked like he was in distress. "I know we've never really spoken before but I just… I just need some help."

She tilted her head in confusion. "Oakstorm, right?" He nodded. "We have to get to our nests, the moon is rising." Softpaw shook her head in confusion. What was going on with her tonight?

Oakstorm nodded in agreement, his amber eyes full of sorrow. "Someone is asking for you. B-by the rogue territory border."

Her eyes widened. _Luna!_ "What do they look like? How many are they? Do they look mad? Are they hurt?" Her heart was racing in terror.

"A small gray she-cat, I think. Only one and no she seems sweet and unharmed. But she did seem very concerned and worried. She specifically asked for you," Oakstorm mewed slowly and quietly.

 _Worried and concerned? Maybe Darkness did something!_ Her heart rate sped up again. "Lead me there. Now."


	8. Chapter 6: I Am Ashpaw

**CHAPTER SIX**

 _The moon was very high in_ the sky, almost a full circle, when the brown tom re-entered the clearing he'd told her to wait in. Softpaw's familiar white pelt slipped in after him. She had a worried look plastered on her face as she rushed over to Luna and touched their noses.

"What happened? Was it Darkness?" Softpaw asked, her voice quivering.

Luna shook her head. "N-no!" She tilted her head. "Well, yes. I'm not sure what he's planning but I know he wants to see if ShadowClan will accept us into the Clan…" She shook her head. "It's just not like him."

Softpaw blinked a few times at her. "He wants… to join ShadowClan?"

 _My father has the weirdest priorities_ , Luna thought silently. "Well, I think so. I'm not sure why or how though." Luna glanced over at the unknown brown tom which she had spoken to to fetch Softpaw. "I-Is that one of your Clanmates?"

The little white apprentice turned around and looked at the tom. "Oh, yes… That's Oakstorm." Softpaw turned back to Luna with more worry in her gaze. "Come here, Oakstorm."

Oakstorm, as Softpaw called him, padded over to them with confusion. "Pleased to meet you Luna."

"You as well," Luna mumbled back, turning to Softpaw again. "He's not going to tell our secret, is he?"

The tom instantly responded before Softpaw could, "No! I won't. Besides, I don't even know what's going on here truthfully." His amber eyes shone as he gazed at Luna. "Well, I mean, I understand that Softpaw is clearly helping you Luna, however I will keep my nose out of your business."

Luna chuckled softly at Oakstorm, smiling warmly at him. He had a sense of humor but he also seemed very protective and curious of the situation. "As long as you don't tell anyone, we shouldn't have a problem." Luna turned back to Softpaw who looked very unhappy with them. "What do you think I should do?"

Softpaw blinked at her a few times. "Well I'm not against you joining the Clan. It could be fun." She smiled warmly.

Oakstorm seemed to brighten up as well. "Oh yes! That would be amazing, we could always use more warriors." He looked at Softpaw with happy eyes. "You should let him ask to join ShadowClan!"

"Really?" Luna smiled happily. _Can I handle being apart of a Clan?_ "I should get back before Darkness realizes I'm gone…" She looked behind her curiously and then smiled at both of them. "I'll see you both when I come to join the Clan…" She turned away and padded through the bushes.

It was getting lighter as she approached their camp and no one was awake yet. She snuck around Darkness who was sleeping at the entrance and to the back where she settled down next to Maple and curled up tightly. She wouldn't be getting a lot of sleep today.

Something stirred beside her and she opened an eye a little to see Maple was speaking to Darkness in a low voice. They didn't seem to notice she was awake.

"Are you going now? We all want to come with you," Maple whispered, glancing back at Harvey and Roman who were sleeping in front of Luna.

Darkness glanced back at us as well. "Yeah, we should go now." He rose to his paws and then mewed, "Wake up! Everyone! The sun is shining it's time to wake up!"

Harvey and Roman sat up almost instantly and Luna rose her head from the ground and looked at him, pretending to be sleepy with her eyes half closed and yawning.

"What's going on?" Harvey mewed with a sleepy voice. "It's only dawn, we don't have to be up yet."

Her father glared at Harvey. "Actually you do need to be up. Today we are visiting the ShadowClan camp and joining their Clan, hopefully." He glanced over at Maple who seemed excited. "So let's get going, now."

Both toms in front of her seemed a little wary and uncomfortable but they padded forward and began following Darkness through the trees and towards the pines. They crossed over the border without hesitation.

Luna pressed herself against Roman. They were at the back of the group, Maple and Harvey in front of them with Darkness leading. He seemed fearless and very excited.

"Who goes there?!" a cat growled and a ginger tom slipped through the bushes with a glossy-pelted gray-and-white she-cat, a light gray tabby tom, and a familiar cat she knew as Oakstorm.

Darkness backed up a little but didn't seem hostile at all. "We wish to speak to your leaders," he mewed firmly and then stood up tall.

Oakstorm smiled at her warmly and she smiled back, feeling her spirits lift as the ginger tom led them through the pines and to where strong scents of cat filled her nose and her worry grew.

"Beestar, Mistystar, the kittypets are here to speak with you," the ginger tom mewed, glancing at us with curiosity.

Beestar, the familiar white she-cat, smiled at us. "How may I help you, Darkness?" Mistystar looked more hostile however.

"We would like to join your Clan." He looked at the two leaders with kindness and respect.

Mistystar looked surprised. "There are two Clans here, Darkness. Which one are you referring to?"

Darkness looked at his friends. "I don't know about the rest of them but Luna and I wish to join ShadowClan."

Luna felt her heart drop. _Would the others be in a different Clan?_ she thought silently and felt her smile disappear.

Maple mewed quietly, "I'd like to join RiverClan. I'm Maple by the way. I've always enjoyed fish and I know both Harvey and Roman enjoy swimming."

Mistystar looked intrigued. "Very well. I will make the three of you apprentices and if you show promise and skill I will make you a full warrior," she promised and let out a yowl to get everyone's attention. "Maple, from here until you receive your warrior name you will be known as Maplepaw, your mentor will be Skyheart. Roman, from here until you receive your warrior name you will be known as Icepaw. I will be your mentor. Harvey, from here until you receive your warrior name you will be known as Mudpaw. Your mentor will be Mosspelt." She touched her noses to each of them as their mentors stepped forward.

"Luna," Beestar mewed and Luna looked at Beestar curiously, "from here until you receive your warrior name you will be known as Ashpaw. Your mentor will be Snowmask. Darkness, from here until you receive your warrior name you will be known as Crowpaw. Your mentor will be Ravenclaw." She touched noses with Crowpaw and then Ashpaw leaned forward and touched noses with Beestar.

"Icepaw! Mudpaw! Maplepaw! Ashpaw! Crowpaw!" both Clans cheered loudly and Ashpaw felt proud of herself, lifting her head high.

 _I am Ashpaw now_ , she thought and looked around the clearing, seeing Oakstorm and Softpaw standing next to each other with smiles on their face.

"Ashpaw," a cat mewed from beside her and she turned her head to see a small pure white she-cat standing next to her. "I am Snowmask, your mentor." She smiled warmly and glanced around. "We should start by exploring the territory and letting you get to know the Clans."

Ashpaw smiled widely. "Nice to meet you, Snowmask. I'm excited to learn!" She glanced around and instantly saw how many cats were confined in the small camp.

"First of all, that over there is the medicine den, where our medicine cats stay: Whispersong and temporarily Willowshine and Fogpaw of RiverClan. That is the hazel branch and leaders den, we don't really go over there," she mewed, pointing at a branch coming out of a tree into camp. "That is the warriors den, you won't go in there until you've received your warrior name. That's the nursery where she-cat expecting or nursing kits stay, that's the elder's den where cats too old to keeping fighting and hunting retire, and that is the den you're staying in, the apprentices den."

She took in her surroundings with a deep breath, marking the apprentice's den in her brain so she didn't forget.

Snowmask turned toward the entrance. "Ravenclaw is our deputy, and as you know Beestar is our leader and Whispersong is our medicine cat. Let us explore the territory." She led the way out of camp and into the pines.

"Tell me about ShadowClan," Ashpaw mewed, looking at Snowmask with interest.

"We are known as wily and proud, we hunt at night and we're good at climbing through the pine trees." She flicked her tail up at the trees around them. "I'll tell you about our ancestors now, StarClan. They are wise and they give us our prophecies and lay out our destinies." Her mentor's eyes flickered to the sky with happiness. "SkyClan is an old Clan of the forest now they live far away from here. They are agile and determined, although you'll never met them. RiverClan, the other Clan staying with us, they are clever and strong. Although we have taken mercy on them."

They trekked through the pines and Ashpaw took a moment to breath in her surroundings. There was the sound of rushing water but other than that, the snow that covered the ground and trees and bushes didn't help her remember anything.

Snowmask began to speak again, "WindClan, a Clan we do not share a border with, they are swift and loyal. They live across the lake on the moor. And finally, ThunderClan, probably the nosiest and largest Clan in the forest. They are fierce and brave."

Ashpaw felt a shiver of excitement. _I am a ShadowClan apprentice now. And this is my Clan._


	9. Chapter 7: I Let Him Die

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

" _Do you smell that? It smells_ like fresh moss," Beestar was mewing, clawing some snow and dirt from under the root of the pine tree out of the way. The fresh green moss was wet from the snow and since it was getting warmer, the snow was beginning to melt.

Ashpaw wiggled beside her and Softpaw glanced over at her. She looked ready to run and jump. Tomorrow night was the Gathering and Snowmask managed to get Ashpaw, Crowpaw, and Softpaw on the patrol to go.

Softpaw smiled at her and turned back to Beestar who was demonstrating how to properly cut the moss so it wouldn't be ruined. Ashpaw and Crowpaw who were beside her didn't know how but she had already learned. Beestar wanted to check on the former rogue's progress.

Beestar looked at Softpaw curiously. "Softpaw, I have to go speak with Ravenclaw and Snowmask, would you watch Crowpaw and Ashpaw?"

She nodded and watched the white she-cat pad away and then turned to the other two apprentices. "Go ahead and try." Softpaw flicked her tail to the moss.

Both apprentices padded over to it and began following what Beestar had shown them.

It had only been a quarter moon since the two joined the Clan. Icepaw, Mudpaw, and Maplepaw were sitting in well with their RiverClan training. They were good swimmers. Crowpaw and Ashpaw were being warmly welcomed and they seemed to be having a lot of fun in ShadowClan.

"Hey guys!" Nightmist and Oakstorm slipped into the clearing with shining eyes, Nightmist held a mouse in his jaws and Oakstorm's eyes were trained on Ashpaw.

Softpaw tilted her head at them. "Are you on patrol?" she asked curiously. _Is it weird that Oakstorm seems to always find his way to Ashpaw?_ She felt a spike of jealousy and shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Who else is with you?"

Nightmist responded after dropping his mouse, "Oh, Yarrowfur is with us too. He had to step back and handle a ThunderClan border skirmish I think." His amber eyes shone in happiness as he gazed at Softpaw. "Doing some training I see."

She jumped to her paws at the mention of her father. "There was a border skirmish? Who else is with Yarrowfur?" Her heart was beating fast in her chest.

"I think Beestar, Ravenclaw, Snowmask, Petalfur, and Icewing," Oakstorm mewed looking confused. "They'll be fine, Softpaw. Come hunting with us!"

Nightmist's ear twitched. "Maybe we should go check it out…" He glanced at Oakstorm and turned back to Softpaw. "Come on, Softpaw. Oakstorm will watch the other two."

Softpaw nodded and quickly rose to her paws, racing through the bushes and through the pines, hearing Nightmist racing after her. She was a lot faster than him considering RiverClan cats were plump from the water and fish.

Her paws practically glided across the ground as she raced to the border. She could smell the blood and mix of ThunderClan, RiverClan, and ShadowClan cats just up ahead.

"Yarrowfur?" she mewed, slipping into the clearing and looking around with wide eyes. There were so many cats, most of them she recognized and others she had only seen a few times. "Yarrowfur?"

Nightmist set his tail on Softpaw's shoulder and she looked over at him. "Over there!" He pointed with his tail to the ginger tom who was underneath a tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat she knew as Blossomfall. Her green eyes glimmered in excitement.

"Dad!" she screeched as he fell out of view and Snowmask and Lionblaze rolled in front of her, teeth and claws blazing. "Yarrowfur?!" Softpaw raced around the two and across to where Blossomfall jumped off Yarrowfur and raced away but her father remained on the ground, unmoving.

Softpaw sniffed him and watched his chest, seeing it rising and falling very slowly. She felt herself begin to panic as she noticed the gash in his throat. Her eyes darted around for something to use to stop his bleeding. _Cobwebs! They stop bleeding!_ She raced to the nearest tree and pulled cobwebs off it, rushing back to her father and putting the cobwebs over his wound, watching them soak up the blood.

"Is he okay?" Nightmist was now beside her, looking down at Yellowbird with concern.

She nodded and picked up his head gently. "Help me!" she ordered, feeling her stomach churn. Softpaw had to hold back her vomit as Nightmist picked up her father and they carefully raced through the pines, away from the battle and towards camp.

 _You'll be okay. StarClan can't have you yet_ , she thought and then bursted into the busy camp, a yowl filling her ears. _More fighting?_

"Whispersong? Where's Whispersong?" she asked, looking around at the confused cats in the clearing. She rushed to the medicine den, still carrying Yarrowfur on her back. Fogpaw and Willowshine were inside and Whispersong's scent was faint. "Where is Whispersong?"

Fogpaw looked up from his herbs. "Lionfur is kitting, she is with her," he mewed and then noticed Yarrowfur. "Oh dear StarClan!" He jumped up and grabbed some herbs from the stacks. "Set him down in this nest," he ordered and Willowshine was at Yarrowfur's side when Nightmist and her set him down.

"L-Lionfur's kitting?" Softpaw mewed with confusion and glanced behind her, seeing Nightmist was looking at her with sad eyes. "How is Yarrowfur's w-wound?" She focused back on the two medicine cats and her father.

"Nightmist, please get her out of here," Willowshine ordered, meeting eyes with Softpaw. She didn't show any emotion and her eyes were like rock.

The black RiverClan warrior nudged her towards the entrance of the den and Softpaw looked at her father with teary eyes, not wanting to leave but knowing it was the best thing to do.

Softpaw left the den and watched Nightmist slip out after her. His eyes were full of concern and he walked over to her.

"Sit down, Softpaw. It's okay," he mewed softly and set his tail on her back. Softpaw sat down and dug her claws into the ground. "He'll be okay, Willowshine and Fogpaw are amazing medicine cats."

 _This isn't happening. StarClan you can't take him, take me,_ she thought and closed her eyes tightly, hearing Lionfur's yowls of pain fill her ears as she kitted. _He has to survive. When I have kits he has to be there for that…_ She looked over at Nightmist who was looking down at her gently.

"Softpaw?!" Flamepaw's familiar voice startled her and she looked up to see her brother. "I heard about Yarrowfur…" His eyes were teary and Duckpaw slipped out from behind him. "We came as fast as we could… Is there any word on him yet?"

Her head shook and she looked at her paws. "N-No but don't worry, Willowshine and Fogpaw are with him."

Duckpaw bared his teeth. "Fish-faces are with him? Are you serious?" he growled and lashed his tail, not even paying notice to Nightmist. "Where is Whispersong? She should be with him! She'll take better care of him than some fox-dung!"

Nightmist rose to his paws, eyes narrowed to slits. "Watch your mouth, frog-dung!" He seemed furious now. "RiverClan and ShadowClan are the same, nothing makes you better than us." His glared turned to Softpaw. "Willowshine and Fogpaw are amazing medicine cats and nothing makes Whispersong any better." He padded away angrily.

She watched him leave and looked at Duckpaw with irritation. "Calm down! Lionfur is kitting and Whispersong is with her. They're our only option."

Flamepaw pushed him aside and met her gaze evenly. "How bad was his wound?" His voice shook in fear.

"I-It was bad…" She closed her eyes tightly as another one of Lionfur's yowls echoed the clearing. She pushed away the thought of all the blood that was coming out of Yarrowfur's fur and focused on the loud pawsteps that were racing into the clearing now.

"Where is Yarrowfur?" Beestar mewed and padded over to us. "Goto your nests. I'll watch over Yarrowfur."

Softpaw shook her head, feeling like her heart was ripped out of her chest. "Y-Yes, Beestar. Tell me if anything changes." She glanced over at her brothers who nodded in agreement and then led the way across the clearing to the apprentice's den where Ashpaw and Crowpaw slipped inside before them.

No one said anything as they settled into their nests, Ashpaw laying in the nest beside Softpaw and Flamepaw laying on her other side. Her nest was at the back of the den.

She listened to the other apprentices enter the den one-by-one and lay down to sleep. She could hear the snoring of cats around her and murmurs of those sleep talking. She let the soft murmur drift her to sleep.

"Softpaw?" a soft voice made her sit up and she gazed around, seeing the small sleeping bodies of the RiverClan and ShadowClan apprentices. And at the entrance was a gray she-cat who was almost black from the moon. "Are you awake?"

She recognized Whispersong's voice and she rose to her paws, "Is it Yarrowfur?" She went around Featherpaw and Frostpaw who slept in the middle of the den and around Crowpaw who was near the entrance and slipped into the cold night, seeing the moon was high in the sky and almost full. Tomorrow night it would be full.

Whispersong closed her eyes and shook her head. "I'm afraid that Yarrowfur didn't make it, Softpaw…" she whispered with sorrow in her voice. "I am so sorry…"

This struck her and she felt her whole world freeze. Her eyes widened and she looked at Whispersong who met her gaze with sad green eyes. She could move or speak, her heart seemed to stop beating and her eyes watered up.

"I am so sorry, Softpaw. I tried everything…" She lowered her head, as if she was in shame. "StarClan was calling his name."

Softpaw shook her head slowly, processing what Whispersong was saying. _Yarrowfur is gone. He's with StarClan… I let him die_ , she thought and the tears came instantly. "D-Does Yellowbird know?"

"No, not yet…" Whispersong whispered back. "I'll tell her in the morning."

Her ear twitched. "O-Okay… S-Should I go back to sleep or…?" Her head spun with all her thoughts.

"Yes. Try to get some rest." Whispersong placed her tail on Softpaw's shoulder and look at her with serious eyes. "Everything will be okay, Softpaw."


	10. Chapter 8: You Have a Moon

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

 _The darkness around us and the_ sound of cats padding through the undergrowth and murmuring in excitement made the moon shining through the trees seem even brighter. The excitement from the ShadowClan and RiverClan cats seemed unreal.

Ashpaw glanced beside her at Softpaw who didn't seem very excited for the Gathering considering her father had passed away the night before. Duckpaw refused to come to the Gathering because he insisted on sitting vigil all day and bury his father with the elders.

We were entering RiverClan territory now, dodging the twoleg's pelt-dens. Mistystar led us to a secret way they get across the river when they goto the Gathering, some stones that was perfect to easily get over the river provided that they aren't wet.

Beestar made apprentices and then warrior's cross first followed by herself, Ravenclaw, Whispersong, Willowshine, Heronwing, and Mistystar just incase someone fell in.

We continued on at a fast pace until we were running to the Island which was beautiful in the moonlight. Softpaw said the WindClan scent was fresh so they had already crossed over to the Island but there was no scent of ThunderClan yet, which Ashpaw already knew their scent.

"Cross one at a time and make sure to use your claws," Beestar mewed as Flamepaw jumped up on the log. "It can be very slippery and the water may not be very deep but it is gross and you will smell disgusting." She let Crowpaw jump on next as well as Icepaw, Mudpaw, and Maplepaw. Then Softpaw jumped on after them.

Ashpaw swallowed her free and unsheathed her claws, waiting for Beestar to tell her to jump on. As soon as Beestar waved her tail for her to go Ashpaw lightly jumped onto the log and dug her claws in instantly, feeling the slippery log underneath her paws and she slowly edged along the log and then jumped off onto the other side, looking at Softpaw who waited for her.

"This is my first Gathering too and since RiverClan lives with us and ThunderClan isn't here, let's go meet some WindClan cats," Softpaw mewed and gave a fake smile, flicking her tail over to the WindClan cats who were mingling with the RiverClan and ShadowClan cats.

A small gray she-cat sat by herself, watching silently as the WindClan cats spoke to others. Ashpaw flicked her at the she-cat and then padded over, feeling excited.

"Hi!" Ashpaw mewed happily, tilting her head at the small cat. "I'm Ashpaw and this is Softpaw. We're ShadowClan cats."

She smiled back. "I'm Mousepaw, an apprentice of WindClan," she purred and looked at Softpaw, clearly seeing her sadness. "Your first Gathering?"

Softpaw nodded at her, not even smiling at her. "Yes it's our first Gathering." She glanced at the entrance to the Island, seeing Bramblestar enter the clearing with ThunderClan following after,

"The Gathering will begin now!" Bramblestar yowled and jumped onto the Great Oak and the other leaders jumped up on it with him. "Go ahead Crowstar."

Crowstar looked over at Bramblestar with confusion and cleared his throat. "Well, WindClan has a new apprentice, Mousepaw. The snow is melting and the prey is starting to run again. Twoleg, who seem to be in RiverClan territory," he glanced at Mistystar, "have been slightly invading our territory but it's nothing we can't handle." He nodded to Mistystar.

"RiverClan has three new apprentices, Mudpaw, Maplepaw, and Icepaw. Misteyes is expecting kits as well." She glanced over at Crowstar nervously. "Twolegs have invaded RiverClan territory and we have been forced to move into ShadowClan camp… But we are still a strong Clan." Mistystar sat down and flicked her tail at Bramblestar.

He looked down at the ground as he stood. "I have some sad news to report… Jayfeather now runs with StarClan." There were murmurs of sadness. "However, ThunderClan has a new warrior: Petaldust. Gingerleaf has taken over as full medicine cat and we are thriving," he mewed and sat down on his branch, wiggling it a little.

Beestar rose to her paws, looking down at us. "ShadowClan has five new apprentices: Crowpaw, Ashpaw Flamepaw, Duckpaw, and Softpaw. We also have two new warriors: Fallenpine and Snowmask. Fallenpine had an accident but he is recovering nicely. Unfortunately, we had a terrible border skirmish and Yarrowfur didn't make it." Her eyes were full of tears for a moment for her brother but she blinked them away. "But we are strong and we will be watching all borders." She glanced at Bramblestar.

Ashpaw took a moment to look at the ThunderClan cats, seeing most of them were pretty scratched and missing tufts of fur. A gray-and-white tom looked especially messed up but his eyes were trained on Softpaw. She glanced at Softpaw who didn't seem to noticed the ThunderClan warrior looking at her.

She snaked around Mousepaw who was sitting beside her and walked past some elders who were talking, continuing over to the Thundercat. She stopped right behind him and watched him rise to his paws.

"Excuse me?" she mewed, trying to keeping herself calm. She needed to figure out why he was obsessed with Softpaw.

He turned around, looking at her with surprise. "Oh, hello there." He seemed confused. "I haven't seen you around are you, are you one of the new ShadowClan warriors?"

"I'm Ashpaw," she mewed, trying to keep her voice kind. "And who are you?" She glanced behind him to see the leaders and deputies were talking quietly. They had some time.

The tom tilted his head. "I'm Dewnose." He smile a little at her and curled his tail around his paws. "How can I help you?"

Ashpaw felt her paws itch with annoyance. "Why're you staring at my friend? What's your problem?" Now she rose taller, looking up at him with angry eyes. She was almost as tall as him. "Are you going to hurt her? What is it? Speak!"

Dewnose's eyes widened and he began stumbling over words, "Well-I mean-I just… She's-" He took a deep breath and looked at Ashpaw with a serious face. "You can't tell anyone… She's-She's," his voice dropped, "my daughter."

Her eyes narrowed. "Your daughter?" Ashpaw glanced at Softpaw who was talking to Mousepaw. "Her father died yesterday, Dewnose." Her tail lashed and she looked at Dewnose with hard, angry eyes. "I don't know what your problem is but you need to stay away from her."

He shook his head. "No, you don't understand… Yarrowfur is not Softpaw's father. I am." His amber eyes shimmered in pain and he lowered his head to match with hers. "I just need to speak with her, Ashpaw. Let her know who I am."

 _But you're from ThunderClan!_ Her head swirled. "Okay, fine, I believe you. But you can't tell her anything," she mewed quietly, glancing over to where Softpaw was looking at her with confusion. "I'll see if I can tell her lightly."

"ShadowClan let's go!" Beestar yowled, padding towards the log with Mistystar following her. "RiverClan, gathering up!"

Ashpaw glanced at Beestar. "Say nothing," she ordered and raced over to Beestar, meeting up with Crowpaw and Softpaw. "Hi!" she purred, pretending to be innocent.

Crowpaw gazed at her with narrowed eyes. "Ashpaw, I must speak with you." He flicked his tail to let Softpaw go ahead of him. "I heard you and Dewnose talking."

She froze, looking at her father with wide eyes. "Don't say anything, please!" she whispered, moving forward in the line and jumping up on the log, digging her claws in and feeling her heart pounding in her chest. _Is he going to tell Softpaw? He can't! It should come from me_ , she thought, trying to gather her thoughts as she jumped off the log and waited for her father. "I'm going to tell her," she whispered to Crowpaw.

Her father's eyes darkened. "You have a moon to tell her or else, Ashpaw." He walked past her to his mentor, Ravenclaw, and they began talking quietly.

She padded alongside Softpaw in silence, feeling herself begin to panic. A moon to tell her she isn't who she thinks she is. A moon to ruin her life. Great.

"I call a Clan meeting!" Beestar's yowl echoed around Ashpaw as she carried moss into the camp with Duckpaw who seemed really grumpy today.

Ashpaw dropped the moss outside the nursery and rushed over to Softpaw who was sitting beside Flamepaw. Crowpaw was sitting over by Maplepaw, Icepaw, and Mudpaw and he was talking quietly, glancing over at Softpaw. She felt her panic start up again.

"What's going on?" she whispered to Softpaw who shrugged.

It had only been a few days since her father passed away and since the Gathering. Softpaw had been getting a lot better with the help of Ashpaw.

"Featherpaw, Frostpaw, and Crowpaw, please step forward," Beestar mewed loudly and the three apprentices stepped forward, Crowpaw looking surprised. "I, Beestar, leader of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentice. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn." She started with Featherpaw. "Featherpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Featherpaw glanced at Crowpaw and mewed loudly, "I do."

Beestar smiled and continued, "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Featherpaw, from this moment you will be known as Featherbreeze. StarClan honors your enthusiasm and bravery, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan." They touched noses and she moved on to Frostpaw.

"Frostpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Frostpaw mewed, her white fur shimmering in the sunlight.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Frostpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Frostlight. StarClan honors your bravery and kindness, and we welcome you as full warrior of ShadowClan." They, too, touched noses and Beestar turned to Crowpaw. "Crowpaw, you joined as a rogue with your daughter and you've done a lot for us. Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Crowpaw nodded his head. "I do, Beestar."

Beestar nodded back at him. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Crowpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Crowflight. StarClan honors your loyalty, hunting skills, and strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan." Beestar touched her nose to Crowflight's and hesitated for a heartbeat, before pulling away.

"Crowflight! Featherbreeze! Frostlight!" ShadowClan and RiverClan cheered while Ashpaw just started at her father, only cheering for the two she-cats.

"To honor StarClan they will sit vigil tonight," Beestar mewed and went over to Mistystar who was watching with Heronwing at her side. The three new warriors went to the middle of the clearing.

Ashpaw glanced at Crowflight who nodded at her and then looked forward. She looked over at Softpaw who was now talking to Beestar and she felt herself panic again, swallowing her fear and turned away from Softpaw, looking to the nursery.

 _Might as well meet Lionfur's kits_ , she thought, feeling a little excited as she padded over to the nursery and slipped inside, seeing Lionfur in her nest with Misteyes beside her with a large belly, the two kits were playing with a moss ball.

"Hi, Lionfur!" Ashpaw purred, looking at her kits with interest. One was a creamy-yellow tom and the other was a large yellow tom. He was almost as big as Ashpaw. "I came to meet the kits."

Lionfur smiled. "Thunderkit! Lionkit! Front and center," she ordered and the two kits instantly sat in front of Ashpaw, looking up at her with sweet innocent eyes.

"Greetings, I am Lionkit," the large yellow kit mewed. He seemed a lot like Lionfur, probably why he was named after Lionfur. "You must be Ashpaw, formerly known as Luna. You are progressing well in your training." He dipped his head to Ashpaw and glanced over at Thunderkit.

The tom who looked more like his father, Creamsky. "Pleased to meet you, Ashpaw. I am must be proud of your father, Crowflight." He dipped his head to her as well.

"Nice to meet you both…" She looked at the two kits. They weren't even a moon old and they were acting like senior warriors. "You sure have taught them manners, Lionfur." She looked at the queen.

Lionfur nodded at her, flicking her tail at her kits. "As you were." They went back to playing with the moss ball. "As you know, I was the deputy of ShadowClan before Ravenclaw. I am a great teacher." She looked over at Misteyes who nodded.

"Ashpaw!" Snowmask yowled and she nodded to the queens before slipping out of the nursery and into the clearing. There was no more snow on the ground and it hadn't snowed in a while. "There you are!" she mewed, watching Ashpaw pad over to her near the entrance. She looked exasperated.

"What is it?" Ashpaw mewed, seeing it was only her standing at the entrance, meaning they weren't going on patrol.

Snowmask sighed. "Duckpaw and Dovesong want to practice partner training today. I agreed so let's get a move on." She flicked her tail to the entrance.

Duckpaw and Dovesong quickly padded up from nowhere and Dovesong nodded at us. "Let's head off, okay?" Dovesong pushed past us and led the way out of camp and Ashpaw padded beside Duckpaw as they left camp, going deeper into the pines.

"Sorry about this," Duckpaw murmured. "Dovesong wants to practice my partner hunting and Snowmask wants to start your partner hunting." He smiled warmly at her.

Ashpaw blinked at him, a little confused. _I didn't really ask for that…_ She shook her head, stopping right behind Snowmask and the two mentors turned around, looking at them with excitement in their eyes.

"So, you two are going to catch something, anything and we're going to watch your procedure," Snowmask mewed and flicked her tail. "Begin, you have until sunset."

She led the way through the bushes, smelling the air and hearing Duckpaw smell too.

"Squirrel," we purred at the same time and Ashpaw smiled at him and followed the scent slowly, looking around.

Duckpaw stopped, pricking his ears. "There," he whispered and Ashpaw saw the squirrel, scuffling around the roots of the trees. "I'll scare it into your paws?"

 _Letting me doing the catching?_ She smiled warmly at him and then silently padded around the clearing, crouched down until she was behind the squirrel.

The other apprentice bursted through the bushes, yowling and pounding his paws against the ground and the squirrel whipped around and raced straight into Ashpaw's paws and she gave it a swift, quick, neat bite to the neck, killing it instantly.

"Nice kill!" Duckpaw purred with a wide smile.

She nodded to him and smelled the air. "Wait," she mewed, looking around, "do you smell that?" She inhaled deeply, the scent of blood washing over her. "I-I smell blood… And not squirrel blood." She turned around and padded through the the bushes, sniffing around.

A sleek gray tom lay in the bushes, unmoving and she recognized the body of Slateleaf and her heart dropped as she saw all the blood on his pelt.

"Oh my StarClan," Duckpaw breathed, now next to her. "Slateleaf…"

Snowmask and Dovesong bursted through the bushes and Dovesong let out a whimper. "Slateleaf?" she murmured and walked over to him, nosing his body and then putting her ear next to his mouth. "H-He's dead." She looked at us with sad brown eyes.

Ashpaw's heart dropped in her chest and she swallowed heavily. _He's dead. Cats don't just die with all this blood_ , she thought and once again, her panic rose. _Someone killed Slateleaf._


	11. Chapter 9: I Know Who I Am

**CHAPTER NINE**

 _Ever since the Gathering Ashpaw had_ been avoiding Softpaw, even when near her Ashpaw seemed to be in a different place and they didn't talk at all anymore. She had been hanging out with Duckpaw a lot lately so Softpaw was trying to make more friends. She had trained with Maplepaw of RiverClan and she was very kind to her. Icepaw was avoiding her and Mudpaw had voluntarily started talking to her. He was kind as well.

Slateleaf had been dead for a half a moon now. Lionfur and Birchwing, who were his littermates, were torn up over his death. Beestar was also very upset over his death, they were good friends. Clumsystep, who was his apprentice, was sad about his death too, and his kits Wintersky and Moonshine were destroyed over their father's death. They'd lost both their parents now, Cloudsong and Slateleaf.

"Hey Softpaw!" Mudpaw mewed, padding up to her with a smile. "Do you want to go hunting or practice battle moves?"

She blinked at him, tilting her head. "Actually I was just about to eat…" She nodded to the fresh-kill pile that was very full. Beestar had really been stepping up patrols.

Mudpaw glanced down at his paws. "May I eat with you? I was hoping for a nice mouse," he purred and padded away towards the fresh-kill pile.

He came back with two mice and he dropped one down at her paws and she laid down, holding in a sigh. He was kind to her, but she would've rather eaten alone.

"Wintersky and Moonshine seem to be hanging out a lot more." He nodded to where the two she-cats were entering the camp with prey in their jaws, they were smiling. "Poor Slateleaf though… A lot of the RiverClan cats think that, uh, ShadowClan had something to do with his death."

Softpaw looked at Mudpaw evenly, chewing the mouse slowly. She swallowed hard. "Excuse me?" she mewed angrily, trying to keep herself calm. "Why would ShadowClan cats attack and kill a ShadowClan cat? Sounds more like something a RiverClan cat would do, you know, since you're our enemy." She took a big bite out of the mouse and stared at him, feeling furious.

The RiverClan apprentice seemed surprised. "Enemy? We sleep in the same den!" he mewed a little louder, glaring at her. "Why would any RiverClan cat kill a ShadowClan cat? You guys aren't even a threat!"

"Hey!" a loud voice made them both jump and Softpaw looked up to see Crowflight, Icepaw, Maplepaw, and Duckpaw padding over to them. "What's going on?" Crowflight mewed, looking at Mudpaw with suspicion.

Mudpaw ducked his head a little. "Softpaw thinks a RiverClan cat killed Slateleaf," he growled, looking up at Crowflight.

 _Put all the blame on me, would you?_ she thought, trying to keep calm. "He tried to blame ShadowClan at first!" she retorted, glaring up at Crowflight. He wasn't very kind to anyone. He pretty much hung out with the rogues he joined the Clan with, with the exception of her brother, Duckpaw.

Crowflight glanced at her, not really acknowledging her. "Mudpaw, you know better. I'll have to have a chat with Mosspelt." The warrior's ear twitched in annoyance. "Go find your mentor, now," he ordered and looked at Softpaw. "Has Ashpaw told you yet?"

 _Told me what?_ "N-No," she mewed, confused. "We haven't really spoken since the Gathering."

His eyes narrowed and he smirked a little. "Well, Softpaw, I hope your friend tells you before something bad happens."

And suddenly Ashpaw rushed up to Softpaw, glaring at her father. "What're you guys talking about?" She looked down at Softpaw. "Hopefully nothing too important." Ashpaw seemed worried about something. Was it the thing she had to tell her?

"Oh, nothing, Ashpaw," Crowflight mewed, snickering a little. "You'd better get on that thing I asked you to do." He turned around and padded away, Duckpaw, Icepaw, and Maplepaw following him closely.

Softpaw took the last bite of her mouse and turned to Ashpaw. "What do you have to tell me, Ashpaw?" she mewed firmly, looking into the pale gray she-cat's amber eyes. "Crowflight told me you have something to tell me."

Her friend's mouth opened in surprise. "I-I-" Ashpaw took a deep breath. "You know how you were given to the Clan, born from an unknown rogue?" Her voice dropped to a whisper.

She had to strain to hear Ashpaw. "Yes?" she mewed, confused. "And Yarrowfur and Yellowbird adopted me. They are my parents. No one knows who my real parents are…" Softpaw instantly felt suspicious now. What was she getting at?

"I know who your father is, Softpaw," she whispered and shook her head. Ashpaw seemed torn. "It's Dewnose, of ThunderClan…"

A ThunderClan cat? She shook her head, unable to speak. _I'm part ThunderClan? Why would he give me up?_ "Who's my mother?" she blurted, looking at Ashpaw. She couldn't say anything else.

Ashpaw shook her head. "He didn't say. Maybe we should go meet with him?" she suggested, flicking her tail to the entrance. "Come on, please?"

 _Dewnose is my father._ Her mind was racing. "Y-Yes," she mewed, her eyes widening. She didn't mean to say yes it just came out of her mouth. She padded to the entrance, Ashpaw right beside her and they quickly slid out of camp and Softpaw raced through the pines, her friend at her side.

 _I am going to meet my real father._ The excitement was in her paws, carrying her to the ThunderClan border at a fast sprint. She was excited and scared. What if he didn't like her?

"Here! Go into those bushes!" Ashpaw mewed, veering off to some bushes right in front of the border and Softpaw slid in behind the bushes, peeking through so she could see the ThunderClan cats on patrol.

"It's just about sunhigh. There should be a patrol coming," Softpaw whispered, scenting the air. She could definitely smell ThunderClan.

"Hollytuft!" a voice called and a black she-cat appeared through the bushes, marking the border. "Wait up!" A golden tabby tom she recognized as Lionblaze padded through the bushes after her with the familiar pelt of Dewnose slipping in after him.

Dewnose froze, looking over at the bush curiously. "Hey, you guys go on ahead. I'll mark this side and we'll meet in the middle," he mewed and watched the two warriors pad away, mewing loudly. "Come out," he ordered, looking at the bush.

Both she-cats slipped out and he instantly had a confused face. "Dewnose, I told her," Ashpaw mewed, scratching the ground with her claws. "We want to know who her mother is."

The ThunderClan warrior took in a deep breath. "It's Whispersong."

Softpaw's eyes widened. The medicine cat? "That's against the warrior code," she mewed, shaking her head in disbelief. "I don't believe this…"

Her father nodded. "I know it's against the warrior code. But I loved Whispersong, even when she couldn't speak. I was the first cat to hear her speak." He teared up a little and shook his head. "I'm so sorry that I couldn't keep you, Softpaw. I am so sorry."

"N-No, don't," Softpaw mewed, clenching her jaw. "It's okay I understand why you couldn't. I forgive you, Dewnose." At least you aren't dead. She touched her nose to his. "You should mark the border before you patrol starts to wonder where you are." She chuckled softly.

Dewnose smiled a little. "I'm glad you understand, Softpaw." He turned away from her and raced away.

"You met your real father," Ashpaw purred, nudging Softpaw's muzzle.

She smiled at Ashpaw, trembling a little. "Thank you for telling me, Ashpaw." Softpaw sniffed a little and instantly recognized the smell of blood. "Oh no," she whispered and pushed past her friend, smelling the scent along the ThunderClan border and stopping as she gazed down at the black-pelted she-cat she knew as Fangclaw. There was blood all around her and on her pelt. It was oozing out of her stomach, sticking everywhere and it was a dark red. The smell sickened Softpaw.

"Oh no," Ashpaw whispered and rushed forward, Softpaw following and smelling the she-cats pelt. "She's still breathing! Softpaw, what do we do?"

Softpaw shook her head, staring down at the she-cat, unable to move or speak. _What do we do? She's still alive. Where's Whispersong?_ "W-We have to get help. Ashpaw, go get Whispersong. Quickly," she ordered, looking down at the she-cat.

"Of course," Ashpaw mewed and instantly darted off towards camp.

"Fangclaw?" Softpaw whispered, leaning over the she-cat. "Can you hear me?"

The black she-cat looked at Softpaw, her eyes full of pain. "S-Softpaw, right?" she mumbled, tears forming in her green eyes. "I'm not going to make it, am I?"

Her heart pounded in her chest and Softpaw let out a shaky breath. "Whispersong is coming, Fangclaw. Don't worry," she mewed, laying on the ground next to the she-cat. "I'm here for you, it's going to be okay."

"Tell Nightsnow and Hollypath I love them, okay?" she whispered, closing her eyes tightly. "And Lionfur and Sunclaw, they're my best f-friends. They mean a lot t-to me…" She took in a deep breath and her voice shook.

She shook her head. "No. Y-You're going to tell them. Because you're going to be okay," Softpaw mewed in a hard voice, feeling herself tremble in fear. _Please don't let her die. Not here, not now,_ she thought, willing for another cat, any cat, to be here right now. She couldn't be here alone.

Fangclaw looked at Softpaw, her green eyes seemed to be getting lighter. "StarClan is calling to me, Softpaw. It's my time. Thank you for staying with me," she whispered and closed her eyes.

"Fangclaw?" Softpaw mewed, looking at the she-cat. She didn't move. "Oh no. Fangclaw?" She nudged the she-cat but she didn't move.

Whispersong bursted through the bushing, looking at the she-cat. "Oh no," she mewed through the herbs in her mouth and then set them on the ground, sniffing the she-cat. "She's dead." Whispersong took in a deep breath and looked over at Softpaw.

Softpaw gazed at her mother, her soul lifting a little. _She was always there for me._ "Whispersong…" Softpaw mewed, looking at her mother's green eyes. They had the same color eyes. "You're my mother…"

The medicine cat's eyes widened in shock and she smiled a little. "Y-You know?" she whispered, glancing around. "Is that why you're by the border? Were you talking to Dewnose?"

She laughed quietly, nodding. "Y-Yeah, actually," she purred and shook her head, and then realized where they were. "We should get Fangclaw back to camp."

Whispersong's eyes widened. "Oh yes, of course." She gave Softpaw a small smile before picking up the she-cat and Softpaw picked her up too.

 _I finally know who I am. Dewnose and Whispersong are my family, and it feels really good._


	12. Chapter 10: I Am a Slave

**CHAPTER TEN**

" _Softpaw, please step forward," Beestar mewed_ and the small, fluffy white she-cat padded forward, glancing back at Ashpaw with a smile. "Although Softpaw is still young, I believe she is very much ready to become a warrior. She has completed multiple warrior assignments and I know she is ready."

Ashpaw smiled for the she-cat. After they found Fangclaw's body, Beestar ordered a "buddy system" type thing. Ashpaw was paired with Duckpaw and Softpaw was paired with Fallenpine. That was over a quarter-moon ago.

Beestar continued, "I, Beestar, leader of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Softpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" There wasn't even question in Beestar's voice, she already knew.

Softpaw smiled and mewed loud and proud, "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Softpaw, from this moment you will be known as Softheart. StarClan honors your kindness, strength, and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan," Beestar mewed and jump down from the hazel branch and gently put her muzzle on her head and Softpaw licked her shoulder. "To honor StarClan, Softheart will sit vigil over the camp."

Ashpaw started the loud cheers, "Softheart! Softheart! Softheart!" She was the loudest of both Clans and Whispersong was definitely the second loudest. Softheart had been a lot happier since she found out who Whispersong and Dewnose were her parents.

Softpaw went to the middle of the clearing to sit vigil and Duckpaw padded over to Ashpaw with a smile.

"What?" Ashpaw mewed, looking at him with disappointment. "You aren't upset that Softheart was made a warrior and you're still an apprentice." She tilted her head, looking at Duckpaw with a serious face.

But Duckpaw chuckled softly. "I'm not worried about that, I know that I am doing great in my training and Softheart is not nearly close to my skill level," he mewed in a happy voice, smiling at her. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "I know about Softheart's real parents." He pulled back and smiled.

Ashpaw looked at him for a heartbeat, shaking her head. "So why are you telling me? Crowflight probably told you, right? Since you're in his circle."

Duckpaw smiled and tilted his head at her. "Correct. Crowflight told me to tell you that you have a choice: Either you become his helper or Softheart does." He glanced over at the newly made warrior and smiled.

"What do you mean by helper?" Ashpaw asked, glancing over at her friend who seemed too happy to noticed they were talking about her.

He sat down in front of her. "You do anything he asks without question." Duckpaw's yellow eyes glimmered in excitement.

"Better me than Softheart," she mewed firmly, eyes narrowed at him. "But if this interferes with my training, you'll regret it," she hissed and then walked away from him and towards Softheart who remained quiet during her vigil. "Congratulations," Ashpaw mewed to her and padded away, seeing Crowflight enter the clearing with a smile on his face.

Ashpaw turned away, feeling furious as she stomped over to the apprentice's den, slipping inside and growling lowly to herself and seeing the den was empty. She flopped into her nest and closed her eyes, tuning out the cats outside the den and letting herself sleep.

 _"Ashpaw, wake up," a voice mewed and Ashpaw's eyes flickered open, seeing a star-furred, thin, long-bodied, pure gray tom. His water blue eyes were emotionless, staring directly at her. "Welcome to StarClan."_

StarClan? _She glanced around, noticing they were in a very dark forest, no moon or sun or stars above them, just blackness. And there was tall tree all around them, reaching high into the sky._

 _"This is StarClan?" She looked to the tom. "Who are you, anyway?"_

 _The tom smiled at her, tilting his head slightly. "Yes, this is the dark side of StarClan and I am Ashfur of ShadowClan. I want to speak with you."_

 _Ashpaw nodded at Ashfur, noting their similar names. "What, did StarClan send you because of our names? Is this a joke?" She was slightly irritated by this but remained calm, just looking at him._

 _"This is not a joke, Ashpaw," he growled lowly, his eyes narrowing. "You are falling to your father, why? Because he's more powerful? No. You are weak!" Ashfur's tail lashed in anger. "Do not fall to him, it will result in pain and suffering, not just for you." He shook his head in disappointment. "_ When the crow calls, flames will rage _."_

 _She tilted her head in confusion, looking at Ashfur. "What?" she replied, giving him an odd look. "What is that? Some kind of warning?"_

 _"No, it was a prophecy. It's coming, Ashpaw," Ashfur mewed and then disappeared and the blackness engulfed everything._

"Ashpaw! I want a frog!" Crowflight mewed and Ashpaw glared at him, rising to her paws and padding to the fresh-kill pile, sniffing through it until she spotted a frog and she grabbed it and padded back over to her father.

"Here," she mewed, eyes narrowed at him as she threw it at his paws and then sat down next to him, her tail wrapped over her paws neatly.

It'd only been a few sunrises since she started obeying her father's every command. It was exhausting. He'd ask for a vole or a water vole or a fish and Ashpaw would spend all day trying to get what he wanted and then come to him asking her to do something else and not even wanting what she got for him.

Crowflight sent a glare up at Ashpaw and took a bite out of the frog. Icepaw, Maplepaw, Duckpaw, and Mudpaw were laying around Crowflight, talking or grooming each other. They sometimes told her what to do too, but mostly left it up to Crowflight.

"Ashpaw!" Softheart and Whispersong padded over to Ashpaw who instantly brightened up. Softheart didn't know why but she knew about Ashpaw being Crowflight's helper. Whispersong knew though. She was her savior. "We're going hunting, and you're coming," Whispersong mewed, looking down at Crowflight to challenger her. But he said nothing.

Last time he challenged the medicine cat she got in a good swipe to his nose and didn't treat it. He almost got an infection but Ashpaw saved him.

Whispersong led the way across camp that was rather empty, Ravenclaw was probably doing group trainings, and through the entrance. The pines were beautiful, the wind blowing through and rustling the branches. The grass was growing back as were the herbs. Everything was coming out of hibernation.

"It's nice out today," Softheart mewed, breaking the silence as they padded through the pines and towards the greenleaf twolegplace. "Whispersong, what're we doing?"

The medicine cat smiled at her daughter. "I actually have some herbs up here I want to check on," she mewed as we padding on beside the twoleg path and border. The ThunderClan scent was faint, no patrol had been around recently. "We don't have to hunt, I just don't like seeing Ashpaw like that." She shook her head in disappointment.

Ashpaw nodded in agreement and continued on, gazing across the border into ThunderClan territory. They didn't have pine trees, they had trees with actual leaves on them. They were very similar to ShadowClan, actually.

They crossed over the twoleg path and neared the greenleaf twolegplace, hearing some twolegs in the trees making loud noises but Whispersong stayed away from that area, entering into a small clearing where a familiar white she-cat with black ears lay, unmoving. Ashpaw could smell the blood.

"Beestar!" Whispersong yowled and rushed over to the she-cat, sniffing her fur and burying her nose deep into her fur. "Oh dear StarClan!" she whispered and the medicine cat looked up at us. "Softheart, find cobwebs," she ordered and the white she-cat raced off.

Ashpaw stared at the unmoving body of their leader, feeling uneasy and she held her breath. That was the third cat they'd found. Who was doing this? "I-Is she okay?" Ashpaw managed to whisper.

Whispersong look up at Ashpaw. "She lost a life, but otherwise yes, she'll be fine." Softheart raced back in with cobwebs and Whispersong applied them to Beestar's neck wound. "Someone intentionally did this so she'd lose a life," Whispersong mewed quickly. "Hopefully Beestar can identify who it was when she wakes up…"


	13. Updated Allegiances

**ALLEGIANCES**

SHADOWCLAN

LEADER **BEESTAR** -white she-cat with black ears

DEPUTY **RAVENCLAW** -black tom with light eyes

MEDICINE CAT **WHISPERSONG** -gray she-cat with green eyes

WARRIORS (toms, and she-cats without kits)

 **COMETMOON** -black tom with white paws and tail tip

 **WHITEEYES** -white tom with blind blue eyes

 **APPRENTICE, FLAMEPAW**

 **SHADOWCLAW** -gray tom with a white tail-tip and blue eyes

 **STONEFANG** -gray tom with green eyes

 **CLUMSYSTEP** -black tom

 **MUDSTORM** -brown tom

 **MOONSHINE** -gray she-cat with green eyes

 **CREAMSKY** -cream-furred tom

 **RAINDUSK** -brown tabby tom with blue eyes

 **AMBERPOOL** -brown she-cat with amber eyes

 **SUNCLAW** -yellow she-cat

 **OAKSTORM** -brown tom with amber eyes

 **SPRINGLEAP** -black tom with long legs

 **NIGHTSNOW** -black-and-white she-cat

 **HOLLYPATH** -black she-cat with green eyes

 **WINTERSKY** -pure white she-cat with light blue eyes

 **DOVESONG** -white she-cat with brown eyes

 **APPRENTICE, DUCKPAW**

 **YELLOWBIRD** -yellow she-cat

 **SNOWMASK** -small pure white she-cat with green eyes

 **APPRENTICE, ASHPAW**

 **FALLENPINE** -gray tabby tom with blue eyes

 **CROWFLIGHT** -black tom with a white stomach

 **FEATHERBREEZE** -silver she-cat

 **FROSTLIGHT** -beautiful white she-cat with blue eyes

 **SOFTHEART** -fluffy white she-cat with green eyes

APPRENTICES **FLAMEPAW** -golden tabby tom

 **DUCKPAW** -creamy-yellow tom with yellow eyes

 **ASHPAW** -pale gray she-cat with amber eyes, formerly rogue

QUEENS **LIONFUR** -yellow she-cat with amber eyes, mother of Thunderkit(creamy-yellow tom with amber eyes) and Lionkit(large yellow tom)

ELDERS **SLEEKFEATHER** -yellow she-cat with blue eyes

 **FLOWERSTEM** -yellow she-cat

 **BIRCHWING** -beige tom

THUNDERCLAN

LEADER **BRAMBLESTAR** -dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

DEPUTY **IVYPOOL** -silver–and-white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes

MEDICINE CAT **GINGERLEAF** -ginger she-cat with amber eyes

WARRIORS **BIRCHFALL** -light brown tabby tom

 **BERRYNOSE** -cream-colored tom

 **MOUSEWHISKER** -gray-and-white tom

 **CINDERHEART** -gray tabby she-cat

 **LIONBLAZE** -golden tabby tom with amber eyes

 **DOVEWING** -pale gray she-cat with blue eyes

 **ROSEPETAL** -dark cream she-cat

 **POPPYFROST** -tortoiseshell she-cat

 **SNOWBUSH** -white fluffy tom

 **BLOSSOMFALL** -tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

 **BUMBLESTRIPE** -very pale gray tom with black stripes

 **AMBERMOON** -pale ginger she-cat

 **DEWNOSE** -gray-and-white tom

 **HOLLYTUFT** -black she-cat with amber eyes

 **FERNSONG** -yellow tabby tom

 **SORRELSTRIPE** -dark brown she-cat with blue eyes

 **CHERRYFALL** -ginger she-cat

 **MOLEWHISKER** -brown-and-cream tom

 **ALDERPELT** -dark ginger tom with amber eyes

 **SPARKFLOWER** -orange tabby; the spitting image of Firestar, as a she-cat

 **LEAFPELT** -tan she-cat

 **LEAFMOON** -tortoiseshell she-cat

 **BREEZEWHISKER** -tortoiseshell she-cat

 **WHITEFUR** -fluffy white tom

 **HONEYBLOSSOM** -white she-cat with yellow splotches

 **FROZENPELT** -white tom

 **HONEYFUR** -golden she-cat

QUEENS **DAISY** -cream long-furred cat from the horseplace

 **LILYHEART** -tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

 **PETALDUST** -creamy golden she-cat, expecting Frozenpelt's kits

ELDERS **BRACKENFUR** -golden brown tabby tom

 **CLOUDTAIL** -long-haired white tom with blue eyes

 **SPIDERLEG** -long-limbed black tom with brown underbelly and amber eyes

WINDCLAN

LEADER **CROWSTAR** -dark gray tom

DEPUTY **EMBERFOOT** -gray tom with two dark paws

MEDICINE CAT **WINDFLOWER** -brown she-cat

 **APPRENTICE, DIRTPAW** (light brown tom)

WARRIORS **SLIGHTFOOT** -black tom with flash of white on his chest

 **NIGHTCLOUD** -black she-cat

 **GORSETAIL** -very pale gray-and-white tom with blue eyes

 **LEAFTAIL** -dark tabby tom with amber eyes

 **OATCLAW** -pale brown tabby tom

 **HEATHERTAIL** -light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

 **BREEZEPELT** -black tom with amber eyes

 **SMOKEFUR** -gray she-cat

 **LARKWING** -pale brown tabby she-cat

 **MOLEFUR** -pale brown tom

 **BRINDLECLAW** -mottled brown she-cat

 **APPRENTICE, MOUSEPAW** (small gray she-cat)

 **BARKWIND** -brown tom

QUEENS **SEDGEWHISKER** -light brown tabby she-cat

 **DUSTYPELT** -brown she-cat with blue eyes, expecting Molefur's kits

ELDERS **FERNTAIL** -gray tabby she-cat

RIVERCLAN

LEADER **MISTYSTAR** -gray she-cat with blue eyes

 **APPRENTICE, ICEPAW** (white tom with blue eyes, formerly rogue)

DEPUTY **HERONWING** -dark gray-and-black tom

MEDICINE CAT **WILLOWSHINE** -gray tabby she-cat

 **APPRENTICE, FOGPAW** (tortoiseshell tom with amber eyes)

WARRIORS **CURLFEATHER** -pale brown she-cat with blue eyes

 **PODLIGHT** -large gray-and-white tom

 **MINTFUR** -light gray tabby tom

 **MALLOWNOSE** -light brown tabby tom

 **DUSKFUR** -brown tabby she-cat

 **MOSSPELT** -tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes

 **APPRENTICE, MUDPAW** (brown tom with sharp claws and teeth, formerly rogue)

 **PERCHWING** -gray-and-white she-cat

 **PETALFUR** -gray-and-white she-cat

 **MINNOWTAIL** -dark gray she-cat

 **ICEWING** -white she-cat with blue eyes

 **FOXPELT** -russet tabby tom

 **PRICKLECLAW** -white she-cat with amber eyes

 **SHADESTREAM** -dark brown she-cat

 **LARKFUR** -brown she-cat

 **STORMHEART** -tortoiseshell tom

 **NIGHTMIST** -black tom

 **SILVERSTONE** -beautiful silver she-cat

 **DAPPLESTREAM** -gray she-cat with amber eyes

 **SKYHEART** -gray she-cat with blue eyes

 **APPRENTICE, MAPLEPAW** (black, ginger, and white tortoiseshell she-cat, formerly rogue)

QUEENS **SHIMMERPELT** -silver she-cat

 **MISTEYES** -red she-cat with blue eyes, expecting unknown's kits

ELDERS **HAVENPELT** -black-and-white she-cat

CATS OUTSIDE THE CLANS

 **SUMMER** -orange-and-white she-cat, lives with Whither

 **WHITHER** -silver tabby tom with a torn ear, lives with Summer


	14. Chapter 11: Everything Will Get Better

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

 _ShadowClan was in chaos over Beestar_ losing a life. Mistystar took charge and was ordering cats to their nest and making sure no one bugged Whispersong, Fogpaw, Willowshine, or Beestar. Heronwing was making sure everyone made it to their nests and Ravenclaw guarded the medicine den.

Softheart was outside the warriors den, watching the cats flood in. Across the clearing she watched Ashpaw sit outside the apprentice's den, waiting until Duckpaw, Icepaw, Maplepaw, and Mudpaw to enter the den.

 _Poor Ashpaw._ She hadn't a clue why Ashpaw had to follow Crowflight and his group around all day. They bossed her around and Softheart felt bad for her.

"Softheart?" Ravenclaw's voice threw her back into the clearing and she looked over at him in confusion. "You can get to your nest now. The clearing is clear. Heronwing will be guarding the medicine den." He flicked his tail to the warrior's den. "Go ahead."

She smiled at him and turned around, entering the den and going around Frostlight, taking her nest in between Featherbreeze and Fallenpine, who had moved back into the warrior's den unless he had problems with his legs.

After settling down she closed her eyes, hearing Ravenclaw settle down in his nest in the middle of the den, the warmest part of the den but it was warm everywhere, of course.

Finally, she let herself drift to sleep with the sound of a cricket chirping somewhere nearby.

"Stormheart, come on!" Softheart called, watching Flamepaw and Whiteeyes both pause to look behind them, waiting for the tortoiseshell tom to enter.

The RiverClan tom stumbled through the bushes, looking at us. "My fur got caught in some bracken. Don't worry, we're good now," he mewed calmly and shook his fur out.

Softheart rolled her eyes and continued on through the pines, heading towards the RiverClan border to check on the twoleg situation. Everyone was itching for the RiverClan cats to get back to their own territory so Mistystar ordered patrols to check on the twolegs in their territory every once in a while.

A few days had passed since Beestar was attacked and she'd woken up a few times, mumbling gibberish and flailing around and then going back to sleep. Cometmoon had been put on permanent guard duty of the medicine den until Beestar was better.

"Looks like they're starting to thin by the border," Flamepaw mewed, couching down low at the border with Stormheart right beside him. "Another moon at most." He smiled.

Whiteeyes seemed to be looking over the border, gazing at the RiverClan territory. But of course, his blind blue eyes couldn't see anything. His ears pricked suddenly. "Get down!" he hissed, laying himself down on top of Flamepaw. Softheart instantly listened to the senior warrior.

They watched as Sunclaw's yellow pelt passed by, as well as Crowflight's black pelt followed after her. They were buddies so they had to travel together. They passed by the patrol hiding in the undergrowth and continued on in silence.

Stormheart looked at Softheart with wide eyes. "Them working together? That's dangerous…" He shook his head in disagreement.

 _Yeah, why were those two paired together anyways?_ She shoved it to the back of her head and stood up. "Come on, we have to go report the twolegs to Mistystar," she mewed and began padding back through the forest, hearing the others struggling after her. She prayed to StarClan that she wouldn't find another dead cat along the way.

The silence in the patrol stuck as they continued through the pines at a fast walk, almost running. Softheart just didn't want to find another body out here. She was sick of having to watch someone die or be the one to find them like they. They didn't deserve it.

She could see the camp up ahead and as soon as she slipped through the entrance she felt herself calm down, looking around for the gray RiverClan leader, spotting her over by the elder's den where she had situated herself. Willowshine was beside her, meowing quietly.

"I'll tell her, Softheart," Stormheart mewed, setting his tail on her shoulder. "You get something to eat." Then he padded over to the she-cat.

Softheart was grateful to the tom. She hadn't been eating well lately. Softheart padded over to the fresh-kill pile, rifling through it until she spotted a blackbird. She pulled it out and took a large bite out of it, enjoying the sweet, savory flavor.

Crowflight and Sunclaw entered the clearing and instantly Crowflight called to Ashpaw and she raced over to him, they spoke quietly and Ashpaw nodded at few times. She looked upset. Then Crowflight flicked his tail and Ashpaw padded away, her tail dragging on the ground.

 _Poor Ashpaw…_ She shook her head, still unsure why she listened to him.

"Softheart?" Oakstorm was standing in front of her with his head tilted. "Come on, let's go lay down." He flicked his tail at the warrior's den and slowly led her to the den that was pretty much empty beside Hollypath.

She looked up at Oakstorm after laying in her nest. "ShadowClan is in a dip. With RiverClan staying with us, Beestar losing a life, so many cats dying, Ashpaw following Crowflight and his group around for no reason…" She shook her head.

Oakstorm smiled a little. "Yeah, we are…" He looked down at his paws. "Everything will get better, Softheart."

"Softheart! Come out here now!" Crowflight's familiar voice intrigued Softheart and she rose to her feet, slipping out of the den and seeing everyone surrounding the black tom in the clearing, Ashpaw was crouched down a tail length away from him, looking at the ground and Crowflight was looking at Softheart with serious, angry eyes.

She glanced around. Everyone else seemed confused too. "What is it?" she asked, moving aside so Oakstorm could stand beside her.

Crowflight smiled at her evilly. "Everyone, Softheart is a ThunderClan cat. Dewnose is her father."

There were some gasps throughout the clearing and Ravenclaw stood up beside Mistystar and Heronwing.

"Ravenclaw, Beestar is not here. Do something!" Crowflight growled, glaring at Softheart with anger. "Do something, Ravenclaw." He looked at the group of cats around him. "It's not fair that a cat from another Clan can live with us. She isn't us. Say it with me: Exile her!" he yowled.

The cats seemed uncomfortable but Amberpool, Sunclaw, Duckpaw, Icepaw, Mudpaw, and Maplepaw all began chanting, "Exile her! Exile her!"

Crowflight looked at Ravenclaw who was staring at Softheart, unable to speak. "Exile her, or else!" Crowflight growled.

Ravenclaw shook his head. "Softheart, I am so sorry…" He took in a deep breath. "Softheart, you are no longer apart of ShadowClan. If you are seen on ShadowClan territory after dusk tonight we will treat you like an enemy warrior. Leave our territory!"

Softheart looked at Oakstorm with wide eyes. "Everything's going to get better, huh?"


	15. Chapter 12: I Miss You

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

 _Crowflight smiled at her evilly. "Everyone,_ Softheart is a ThunderClan cat. Dewnose is her father."

There were some gasps throughout the clearing and Ravenclaw stood up beside Mistystar and Heronwing.

"Ravenclaw, Beestar is not here. Do something!" Crowflight growled, glaring at Softheart with anger. "Do something, Ravenclaw." He looked at the group of cats around him. "It's not fair that a cat from another Clan can live with us. She isn't us. Say it with me: Exile her!" he yowled.

The cats seemed uncomfortable but Amberpool, Sunclaw, Duckpaw, Icepaw, Mudpaw, and Maplepaw all began chanting, "Exile her! Exile her!"

Crowflight looked at Ravenclaw who was staring at Softheart, unable to speak. "Exile her, or else!" Crowflight growled.

Ravenclaw shook his head. "Softheart, I am so sorry…" He took in a deep breath. "Softheart, you are no longer apart of ShadowClan. If you are seen on ShadowClan territory after dusk tonight we will treat you like an enemy warrior. Leave our territory!"

Softheart looked at Oakstorm with wide eyes. "Everything's going to get better, huh?"

Ashpaw watched Softheart rise to her paws, nodding at Ravenclaw as she pushed passed Sunclaw and to the camp entrance, pushing through it and leaving the camp. Ashpaw was at a loss for words.

She refused to work under Crowflight and he told the Clan that Softheart was Dewnose's kit. Then he forced Ravenclaw to exile her. She should've just sucked it up. Softheart never deserved this. _Where would she go now?_

Her eyes turned to where Oakstorm was staring at Ravenclaw with his jaw dropped open in surprise. This was a disaster. Beestar would've never let this happen.

"Ashpaw?" Oakstorm padded over to her, his amber eyes full of sadness. "Softheart will be okay, she's a good warrior." He gave a small smile. "I'm sorry this happened…" He shook his head slowly.

Ashpaw glanced over to where her father was sitting under the hazel branch, his group with him murmuring in excitement and victory.

"You're right, she'll be okay," she responded, feeling unconvinced. _StarClan, please watch over Softheart._

"Gather around for a Clan meeting!" yowled a voice that rung in Ashpaw's ears.

She sat up and parted her jaws in a yawn, glancing around the den to see she was the only one in the den. Quickly, Ashpaw slipped out of the den and looked around the clearing, seeing Ravenclaw on top of the hazel branch and Beestar laying underneath him. Mistystar, Heronwing, Willowshine, and Fogpaw were all lined up beside Beestar.

Ravenclaw continued, "Several moons have passed by since Mistystar and RiverClan has joined us and now they're going back to their own camp." He looked down at Mistystar who nodded. "It has been a good time being with RiverClan all these moons. We wish you a safe journey home and may StarClan light your path." He dipped his head.

Mistystar smiled and rose to her paws. "Thank you for all your help." She flicked her tail at her Clan and led them out of camp at a fast pace until the clearing seemed almost empty. Everyone turned back to Ravenclaw.

Beestar spoke up now, "Flamepaw, Duckpaw, please step forward."

The two apprentices were on opposite sides of the clearing and they met gazes before stepping forward in front of Beestar.

"I, Beestar, leader of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn," she mewed, eyes shining but also a little dark. "Flamepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Flamepaw brightened up and purred, "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Flamepaw, from this moment you will be known as Flamewing. StarClan honors your courage and intelligence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan," Beestar mewed and Flamewing padded up to Beestar, licking her shoulder and she set her muzzle on his head.

He moved to the edge of the clearing and Duckpaw waited patiently.

Beestar turned to the apprentice. "Duckpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," he mewed loudly with confidence. He knew what he wanted.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Duckpaw, from this moment you will be known as Duckpelt. StarClan honors your strength and bravery, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan." He moved over to her and did the same thing Flamewing did before moving away.

"Flamewing! Duckpelt! Flamewing! Duckpelt!" the Clan called, only it seemed quieter without the RiverClan cats here. And Softheart.

She only cheered for Flamewing. She hated Duckpelt. He helped get rid of her best friend. Her only friend.

It had almost been a quarter-moon since Softheart was exiled. Ashpaw hadn't seen or heard from her at all. She hoped that Softheart was okay. Beestar was furious with Ravenclaw and Crowflight. Their punishment was cleaning the dens and Beestar made sure to tell us to look out for Softheart so we could get her back into the Clan but no one had seen her.

Ashpaw was furious with Beestar for punishing them so lightly. Although Ravenclaw was pressured into it by Crowflight. He definitely got it worse: a good screaming, no Gatherings until Beestar feels he's learned his lesson, and cleaning all the dens all the time.

Oakstorm was sitting next to her. "Stop worrying about Softheart, she's fine." He smiled at her. "Let's go clean out the nursery, Lionfur will be grateful and her kits are quite adorable." He flicked his tail at the nursery.

That was the last thing she wanted to do but she nodded at him _. If Softheart wanted to talk to you, she would find a way. But she hasn't, so maybe she doesn't want to talk to you._


	16. Chapter 13: ThunderClan Is My Place

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

 _The pines whizzed past her as_ she rushed through the forest, her breath growing heavier as she felt her tears come to her eyes. It blurred her vision heavily until she was running blindly, feeling something hit her paw she fell to the ground and looked around, seeing the tree root that she tripped over. She struggled to her paws and limped along, hurrying through the pines.

Softheart tried to blink away her tears but it didn't help her vision as she smelled an unfamiliar scent but didn't bother to stop. Everything was blurry and she felt the thorns tear through her pelt and she stopped, looking down at her pelt. Sure enough, she was stuck in some thorns but she didn't remember them being anywhere in ShadowClan territory. She raked her mind.

 _Where am I?_ Softheart blinked forcefully until her vision cleared, sniffing heavily. She didn't recognize her surroundings at all. This definitely wasn't ShadowClan territory. She had no idea where she was.

Her legs gave out and she fell the ground, the thorns digging deeper in her pelt. She was definitely stuck. There was no way she was going anywhere.

She laid her head on her paws, feeling her ear bleeding but Softheart didn't care. She was exhausted. Ravenclaw had just exiled her because Dewnose was her father. Crowflight seemed to be the leader of ShadowClan now, not Beestar.

 _This is pointless…_ Softheart closed her eyes and let her tiredness wash over her. Sleep came soon after.

"What're you doing here?" growled an unfamiliar voice and Softheart rose her head, feeling the thorns in her pelt shift as she gazed up at a dark cream she-cat she recognized as Rosepetal. A yellow tabby tom stood behind her with a tortoiseshell she-cat. Fernsong and Leafmoon.

Softheart blinked at them. "A-Am I on ThunderClan territory?" she mumbled, seeing the sun in the trees. She must've fallen asleep on ThunderClan territory last night.

"Yeah, you are," Rosepetal growled and lashed her tail. "Fernsong, Leafmoon, get her untangled and let's get her to Bramblestar and see what he wants to do with the spy."

Fernsong and Leafmoon began to yank the thorns out of her fur, both of them being rather gentle as to not hurt her.

Finally, they untangled her and she rose to her paws, being supported by both cats as Rosepetal led the way through the forest, Her pelt ached and she was barely walking. The two ThunderClan warriors were practically dragging her along.

"What's she doing here?" She heard someone call and she lifted her head a little to see Lionblaze glaring at her with Cinderheart at his side. They were in ThunderClan camp now and out of the corner of her eye she saw Dewnose at the side of the clearing. His jaw was open wide in surprise as he looked at her.

She could practically see herself: Defeated, bloody, cut up, destroyed. Softheart could hear the gasps and mumbles as Rosepetal climbed up a large rock and into the den at the back of the rock, probably the leader's den where Bramblestar was.

"Softheart?" Bramblestar was on top of the log, looking down at her. He slowly climbed down the rock and padded to her. "What's going on? Why were you on ThunderClan territory?" he asked with a tilted head as Ivypool stood next to him.

Her throat burned as she cleared her throat and rasped, "I was forced to leave ShadowClan because someone had a grudge against me… I didn't mean to intrude on your territory…" She swallowed heavily but it didn't help anything. She coughed for a few heartbeats. "If you let me go I won't come back on your territory."

Bramblestar nodded at her. "I shouldn't let you go out with those wounds, Softheart." He turned to the pale ginger she-cat standing next to him, Ambermoon. "Get her some wet moss, please." He looked back at Softheart with a warm smile. "Gingerleaf will take good care of you, don't worry."

"T-Thank you, Bramblestar…" she whispered and felt Fernsong and Leafmoon hoist her up and carry her towards a cave that had bramble tendrils hanging down and covering the entrance. She assumed it was the medicine cat's den.

A ginger she-cat stood at the back of the den where there were holes in the wall and she could smell the strong scent of herbs and three nests lined the wall. The two warriors set her in the first one.

"Fernsong?" Gingerleaf turned around and blinked at us, looking at Softheart in confusion. "Who is this?"

Leafmoon stepped forward. "This is Softheart from ShadowClan. She was chased out and Bramblestar orders you to take care of her." She flicked her tail at Fernsong and they left the den.

Ambermoon slipped into the den with wet moss in her jaws. She set it in front of Softheart and left the den silently.

Gingerleaf padded forward and sniffed Softheart's pelt. "Hm, these are thorn wounds, aren't they?" She gave a little chuckle and Softheart lapped up the water on the moss ball, savoring the cold taste in her mouth. She grabbed a large-leafed plant with a tangy smell and some cobwebs, padding back over to Softheart. "This is dock and cobwebs. They'll soothe your wounds." She chewed up the dock and began applying the dock to all her wounds. She flinched in pain until she was done and put the cobwebs over it.

Softheart set her head down on the edge of the nest and close her eyes, listening to Gingerleaf sort her herbs at the edge of the den.

 _Dewnose is here, he's my father. Maybe this will be good,_ she though silently and let herself drift to sleep.

"Softheart? It's time to wake up," a familiar voice whispered and Softheart sat up, seeing she wasn't in the warrior's den at ShadowClan camp. Her heart fluttered as she looked around and remembered what had happened. She was in the ThunderClan medicine den.

Dewnose stood in front of her with a smile. "I am so glad you're okay," he purred quietly, glancing over at Gingerleaf who was talking to a fluffy white tom at the entrance of the den. She paid no mind to us. "What's going on? Why were you chased out of ShadowClan?"

"C-Crowflight found out you're my father," she rasped and cleared her throat. "He had me exiled." She shivered as she remembered the chanting of her own Clanmates wanting Ravenclaw to exile her.

Her father frowned. "Your wounds are healing well. Gingerleaf said you can leave the medicine den. Bramblestar wishes to speak with you under the Highledge."

 _Highledge?_ She glanced at the sunlight that she could see flooding into the cave. The Highledge was probably the giant rock that Bramblestar's den was on. "Let's go then," she mewed and struggled to her paws, feeling her energy come back into her paws. She jumped out of her nest and slipped passed Gingerleaf and the unfamiliar tom and into the clearing.

ThunderClan camp was rather beautiful. Sunlight shone right down into the camp. It was protected by a cliff side. Bramblestar was right under the Highledge like Dewnose said and she padded over, seeing Ivypool, ThunderClan's deputy, laying beside him.

"Softheart, you're awake," he purred and smiled at her. "We were all worried, it'd been a few days." Bramblestar rose to a sitting position. "Softheart, since you can't return to ShadowClan I was wondering if you'd like to join ThunderClan. Dewnose offered to train you. Of course, that means you'll be Softpaw again, but not for too long."

She smiled warmly. _Dewnose training me?_ Her excitement soared. "Of course, I'd love to join ThunderClan, Bramblestar."

Dewnose padded up behind Softpaw. "Well I'll give you another day to rest and tomorrow we will start by exploring ThunderClan territory. Today I'll just show you around camp." He flicked his tail to the Highledge. "Of course you know the Highledge. Where Bramblestar makes announcements. His den is at the back of the rock." He led her to where a thick bramble bush stood tall and wide. "That's the nursery. Daisy, Lilyheart, and Petaldust are in here. Petaldust had Frozenpelt's kits a few days ago." Dewnose padded to a large thorn bush where a large fallen tree rested on it. "That's the warrior's den." He moved over to a cave. "That's where you'll be sleeping. The apprentice's den." He nodded to a hazel bush that was also under the log. "And the elder's den."

Softpaw took in a deep breath, taking in the ThunderClan scent. It smelled odd but as time went on she'd get use to the scent soon. She'd soon smell of ThunderClan too.

"Go get something to eat, Softpaw," her father purred and touched his nose to her forehead before turning away and padded to the elder's den and slipped inside.

Softpaw's mind flickered to Ashpaw. _Would she be disappointed in me?_ Her worry rose a little but she shoved it down. _She'd be glad to know I'm okay,_ she thought and then padded to the fresh-kill pile in the middle of the clearing and sniffed the pile. There were no rats, lizards, or frogs on the pile. She spotted a thrush and grabbed it, going to the edge of the clearing. She took a bite out of the thrush and enjoyed the warm flavor in her mouth. She swallowed as the fluffy white tom from earlier approached her.

"Softheart, is it? Well I guess Softpaw now," he purred softly and tilted his head. "I'm Whitefur." He smiled warmly and sat down next to her. "Sorry if I'm interrupting your meal."

 _A friend already?_ She smiled warmly. "No, no, you aren't interrupting at all," she purred back and took another bite of her thrush. "Nice to meet you, Whitefur. Do you want a bite?" She nosed the thrush over to Whitefur.

Whitefur nodded and took a bite of the thrush. "Mmm, I love a good thrush. Rabbits too."

"Rabbit?" She looked at him curiously. "I've never had a rabbit before." Softpaw itched to go hunting now but she didn't know ThunderClan territory at all. "I thought only WindClan ate rabbits?"

He nodded at her. "Yeah but sometimes they cross over the WindClan border and get stuck in all the debris. Hey, I'm on the dawn patrol tomorrow, I'll see if I can catch us one." He smiled warmly and then rose to his paws. "I'll see you tomorrow with that rabbit." Whitefur touched his nose to hers and then padded over to the warriors den and slipped inside.

Softpaw smiled to herself and finished the thrush, rising to her paws and looking at the apprentice's den. It would be empty but it would give her room to think.

She padded over to the den and slipped inside, seeing that it was a lot warmer than the ShadowClan apprentice's den. She laid down in the nest in the middle and laid down, wrapping her tail around her body and closing her eyes. Her stomach was warm with happiness. She felt like this is where she was supposed to be, but part of her missed ShadowClan and her friends. She hoped Ashpaw was okay.

"Keep up, Softpaw," Dewnose mewed, padding in front of her as they passed and abandoned twoleg place. "Gingerleaf grows many herbs here and prey thrives around here, mice especially roam on the inside." He flicked his tail and she walked beside him, feeling warm. "Well be heading towards the WindClan border."

Softpaw nodded, remembering Whitefur's promise to get them a rabbit to share. She smiled to herself as she padded alongside her father.

"I saw you talking with Whitefur," Dewnose mewed and glanced down at her as they crossed over an empty Thunderpath. "You guys were getting along well."

She nodded, feeling a little uncomfortable. "Yes, he's kind," she replied and continued walking, seeing the moorlands up ahead. "So tell me about WindClan."

He took in a deep breath. "WindClan lives and hunts in the moor, as you know. They like rabbits and they're quite a difficult group to deal with. They love having territory and causing fights." Dewnose stopped at the river and nodded at it. "This is the border with them."

She took in a deep breath, remembering their scent that smelled like wind and rocks. She shivered and nodded at Dewnose. "Well they should know better than to mess with us," she purred and then smiled warmly at her dad.

Dewnose was looked down at her with his amber eyes glistening. "So, what? Is Whitefur your friend now or something?"

"Yeah, he is," she mewed, looking at him with confusion. "Why does it matter who my friends are?"

Her father's tail lashed and he took a deep breath. "Whitefur is a good warrior," he mewed with a little hesitation in his voice. "He's very kind and he takes very good care of our Clan." He smiled and nodded at her.

Softpaw was surprised. "H-He's just a friend, Dewnose…" She shook her head. "Okay, I'll lead us back to camp!" she purred and turned around, padding through the forest at a fast pace, wanting to get away from her father so they didn't have to talk about Whitefur anymore.

ThunderClan camp was just ahead and she picked up the pace, slipping through the thorn barrier and into camp, seeing it was busy with activity. Whitefur was sitting outside the apprentice's den with a rabbit at his paws. She felt her excitement bubbling and she padded over to him happily.

"Hey!" he purred and glanced down at the rabbit. "I told you I'd catch us a rabbit!" Whitefur laid down and Softpaw did too. "Are you ready to taste the most delicious thing ever?"

She nodded. "At the same time. One, two, three!" At the same time they took a bite of the rabbit and instantly the delicious flavor filled her mouth and she closed her eyes, enjoying the flavor. "Oh my StarClan! It's amazing!" Softpaw purred, swallowing the rabbit.

Whitefur smiled warmly. "I told you!" His eyes shone in happiness as he gazed at her.

"You were definitely right!" She took another bite and swallowed, enjoying the flavor and smiling up at her friend. "How was the dawn patrol this morning?"

He shook his head. "Caught scent of WindClan cats on ThunderClan territory, Bramblestar sent Ivypool, Bumblestripe, and Birchfall over to confront Crowstar," he mewed with disappointment. "They're always stirring up trouble."

She felt a little excitement. She hadn't been in a battle before, especially not with WindClan cats. "I should learn some battle moves then, huh?" She jumped to her paws.

The white warrior smiled. "I could teach you a good one." He rose to his paws too and then crouched down low, racing past Softpaw and jumping onto the wall of the camp and then landing directly on Softpaw's back. She let out a yelp as she crashed onto the ground with Whitefur's body crushing hers.

"That was awesome, let me try!" she mewed and Whitefur got off her. Softpaw focused herself on the wall and raced forward, jumping off the wall but instead of feeling fur under her paws she felt the ground. "I missed!" she mewed in disbelief and looked over at Whitefur.

He purred in amusement. "Don't worry, with practice you'll get it." He pressed his nose to her ear.

"That was impressive, Softpaw," Dewnose mewed, looking at her from a tail length away. "Bramblestar spoke to me about you doing your assignment since you already had formal training. We will do it tomorrow." He flicked his tail and padded away.

Softpaw's ears flattened on her head. "My warrior assignment already?" She looked up at Whitefur with worry. "What if I'm not ready?"

Whitefur laughed quietly. "Of course you're ready. I believe in you, Softpaw," he purred and then pricked his ears and looked at the entrance.

Ivypool entered the clearing with Bumblestripe, and Birchfall following after. They looked furious.

"What happened?" Bramblestar mewed, running over to his warriors with concern. "Did they threaten you? Did Crowstar admit to crossing the border?"

"Oh, they confessed alright!" Bumblestripe growled. "Crowstar said that if we wanted him to stay on WindClan territory we'd have to fight him." His tail lashed in anger.

Bramblestar's eyes narrowed. "Very well. We'll attack tomorrow night. Everyone get prepared. Ivypool, I want you to do a training exercise. Take with you Berrynose, Snowbush, Sorrelstripe, Whitefur, Softpaw, and Honeyfur."

Softpaw bounced to her paws and smiled at Whitefur. "Alright, let's go," Ivypool mewed and Softpaw and Whitefur rushed over to her, the rest of the patrol padding after them.

They padded out of camp, padding towards where Softpaw knew the training clearing was. Dewnose had shown her every bit of the territory.

Ivypool led them over the old, empty thunderpath and continued on through the forest. She looked off towards the lake and saw the sky oak lumbering big and tall. That's where ThunderClan cats went to climb. She'd have to go there with Whitefur at some point.

Up ahead she could hear the river which was right before the training clearing, a soft sandy hollow with trees around it but just enough room above it for the sun to shine through. It was a beautiful place.

"Here we are," Ivypool mewed as they entered the sandy hollow.

Softpaw felt the hot sand on her paws and purred a little, enjoying it.

Snowbush piped up, "We should split into two teams!"

The deputy nodded in agreement. "Whitefur, Softpaw, and Honeyfur. Your goal is to take…" She looked around the clearing and picked up a leaf, bringing it to their group. "This leaf and try to climb this tree without the other group taking you out." She padded over to the tree and sat down. "Pick your two fighters and climber. The climber has to get to the second branch and then you win."

Honeyfur leaned down and whispered to them, "Softpaw should be the climber. She's small and it'll be easier for her."

Whitefur nodded and Softpaw picked up the leaf, swallowing her fear as she looked at the other team. Sorrelstripe was in front of her, crouched down with her dark brown blowing in the wind. She bared her teeth.

"Begin!" Ivypool yowled.

Instantly, Softpaw jumped to the side, letting Sorrelstripe jump right into the sand. Softpaw went around the she-cat and made a break for the tree, seeing no one in her way.

But a cat jump right on her and cream-colored fur caught her gaze. She rolled through the sand, feeling teeth in her tail as she stood up. Berrynose had a hold of her tail.

"Whitefur!" she yowled and the white tom pushed Snowbush away from him, looking over at her and then instantly darting to Berrynose, pushing him over.

Softpaw let out a yowl of victory as she yanked her tail away and jumped onto the trunk of the tree, using her claws to climb up the trunk onto the first branch. She glanced down to see Sorrelstripe climbing after her.

Sorrelstripe was almost on the first branch and Softpaw dug her claws into the second branch and began struggle up to the branch. She felt teeth dig into her tail but she continued climbing up the branch and ripped her tail from out of Sorrelstripe's mouth and climbed onto the second branch.

"I did it!" she yowled, the leaf dropping from her mouth.

Sorrelstripe purred up at her, "That was good, Softpaw! You're a great climber!"

Softpaw smiled and climbed down to the first branch and then climbed down to the ground with Sorrelstripe climbing down after her.

"That was very good, all of you," Ivypool praised. "Now to switch. Pick your climber," she mewed and then picked up the leaf and set it at the other group's paws.

They switched sides so they were further away from the tree and Sorrelstripe grabbed the leaf. But this time Whitefur was in front of her and Softpaw was in front of Snowbush.

She felt her excitement rise and she crouched down just as Ivypool yowled, "Begin!"

Instantly Softpaw jumped onto Snowbush's back, crushing him into the ground. She felt Snowbush struggling to his paws and he pushed her off him and Softpaw fell to the ground, growling at him and grabbing his leg tightly in her jaws, seeing Sorrelstripe was almost at the tree and now Honeyfur tackled her.

Snowbush whipped around and ripped his leg away from Softpaw, lashing out with his paw and hitting her on the head. She collapsed onto the ground and coughed a little.

Her eyes narrowed as she watched Snowbush running towards Sorrelstripe who was trying to get up the tree but Honeyfur was stopping her.

She jumped to her paws and raced over to the tree, jumping onto it and tackling Snowbush to the ground, pinning him to the ground, hearing Honeyfur and Sorrelstripe fighting behind her. But she focused on keeping the wiggling Snowbush held down.

"We win!" Sorrelstripe yowled and Softpaw glanced up to see Sorrelstripe was at the second branch with the leaf in her jaws and Honeyfur was directly under her on the first branch glaring up at her.

"Very good, all of you," Ivypool mewed, glancing up to where the sun was sinking in the sky. "Let's get back to camp." She rose to her paws and padded across the clearing, leading the patrol through the forest.

Softpaw padded beside Whitefur, feeling his fur brush against hers and she smiled to herself. Perhaps it was good she was exiled from ShadowClan.


	17. Chapter 14: Beestar's Coming Back

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

" _Ashpaw! Where's Snowmask?" Ravenclaw padded up_ to Ashpaw, looking down at her with his light eyes. He seemed exhausted. "I need to talk with her…"

Beestar was still resting, she hadn't really moved out of the medicine den and no bodies had been found lately. Two days from now was the Gathering. She hoped Softheart would be there even though she wasn't part of a Clan. She missed Softheart.

"She's on patrol on the RiverClan border," Ashpaw mewed, feeling herself grow tired. She just wanted Softheart to be here. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Crowflight standing an smiling at her. "You go find her." Ashpaw turned away and dragged herself across the clearing to where Whispersong was sitting outside her den sorting herbs.

Whispersong looked at Ashpaw, she also seemed exhausted. "Yes, Ashpaw?"

Ashpaw knew Whispersong was Softheart's mother. "Don't you miss Softheart?" she mewed keeping her voice low.

"Of course I do," Whispersong responded quietly, sorting her herbs still. "But wherever Softheart is I'm sure she is safe and okay."

She sighed and then nodded her head. "The Gathering is in two days. I wish Softheart could be there…"

The medicine cat shook her head at Ashpaw. "I know, Ashpaw…" She sighed and looked down at her herbs. "It seems so much darker here without her around." Whispersong started sorting herbs again.

Ashpaw turned away from her and instantly ran into Oakstorm who was smiling down at her.

"Gathering's in two days," Oakstorm purred and then sat down. "You miss Softheart, don't you? You're worried about how she hasn't tried to come see you?"

She was surprised about how he practically read her mind. "Y-Yeah… I just miss her..." She glanced over to see Ravenclaw leaving the camp and Crowflight rose to his paws while Duckpelt and Sunclaw stood in front of the entrance.

"ShadowClan!" Crowflight yowled and everyone turned to look at him. "Why are we letting Beestar be our leader? She is weak and hiding in the medicine den. We need someone else!"

The Clan was silent and Oakstorm stood in front of Ashpaw, protecting her from Crowflight's gaze.

Crowflight's eyes narrowed as he gazed around. "We need a new, stronger leader. I should be leader!" he growled and looked around at the cats in the clearing. "Come on, you think Beestar or Ravenclaw can lead us strongly?"

There were some murmurs of agreement but mostly cats disagreeing with Crowflight.

"You have no right to talk like that, Crowflight," Cometmoon mewed, standing and facing the warrior with angry eyes. "You need to respect your leader, deputy, and Clan."

He glared at Cometmoon. "You shouldn't speak to me like that." He flicked his tail and Amberpool and Shadowclaw stepped forward, glaring at Cometmoon with anger. They were part of his group.

Cometmoon flattened his ears on his head and bared his teeth at the two warriors. "I am a senior warrior of ShadowClan, you have no right to treat me like this," he growled, looking at Amberpool and Shadowclaw with anger.

"And you have no right to talk to your new leader like that," he growled and flicked his tail. Both warriors jumped at Cometmoon with teeth and claws blazing.

Ashpaw slipped around Oakstorm and grabbed Amberpool's scruff, yanking her back and throwing her directly into Crowflight and turned to see Shadowclaw on top of Cometmoon and she raced over to Shadowclaw, yanking his tail and watching him stumble backwards. She hooked her claw in his leg and tripped him.

"You have no right to speak to anyone like that!" Ashpaw hissed, glaring at Crowflight who was struggling to his paws. "You are not our leader! You will never be our leader, do you understand me?!" She heard something behind her and glanced back to see Sunclaw crawling towards her, glaring at her with anger. Hollypath was beside her.

Crowflight coughed. "Poor little Ashpaw." He nodded at Sunclaw. "Kill her," he ordered.

"Enough!" Beestar had stumbled into the clearing with Whispersong at her side. "I am still alive. You are not ShadowClan's leader, Crowflight," Beestar growled, looking at Crowflight with disappointment. "Clean up your act or what you did to Softheart will happen to you, Crowflight."


	18. Chapter 15: Facing ShadowClan

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

 _The forest zoomed past her as_ she felt the wind in her fur and she smelled a mouse in the air. She didn't even hesitate as she bursted through the bushes and picked it up with a paw, killing it neatly. It fell to the ground without a noise and she glanced up at the trees where she knew her mentor, Dewnose, would be waiting for her.

"Very good, Softpaw!" Dewnose purred, jumping down from the tree and smiling warmly at her. "Beestar will definitely not be surprised that your passed your assignment. You're a very good hunter, fighter, and warrior. I can see you going far." Dewnose had the kindest eyes as he gazed at her. "Come on, let's get back to camp." Dewnose whisked away from her and she picked up her mouse, padding through the forest after him.

She loved being a Thundercat, despite missing her mother, Oakstorm, and Ashpaw. Everyone was very kind to her. Whitefur introduced her to some of his friends: Frozenpelt, Breezewhisker, and Sparkflower. They were very kind to her. Although, she didn't really consider them to be her friends. Ivypool had been speaking to her a little when she had time. Ivypool seemed to be very cold but once you'd gotten to know her, she was very nice.

They entered ThunderClan camp where Whitefur was waiting for her. He smiled warmly as he saw the mouse in her jaws and she went to the fresh-kill pile while Dewnose went to speak with Bramblestar.

"You passed?" Whitefur whispered, looking at his with excited eyes.

She nodded at him, smiling. "Yeah, I did." Softpaw touched her nose to Whitefur's. "Just like you said I would."

Whitefur purred in happiness. "I knew you would, Softpaw. Everyone knows how amazing of a warrior you are." He licked her cheek and glanced over at the Highledge. "Looks like it's time." He backed away and Softpaw looked at the Highledge. She'd get her name back now, her name she'd received from Beestar. From ShadowClan.

Her heart ached for a heartbeat as her thoughts flickered to ShadowClan. She still missed them with her hole self. They were what defined her, but not anymore. She was a ThunderClan cat now.

"I call a Clan meeting!" Bramblestar yowled and the Clan slowly gathered and Softpaw sat right in front, smiling up at Bramblestar. "Softpaw, you were already a warrior of ShadowClan but now, you are a warrior of ThunderClan. With StarClan and ThunderClan as witness, Softpaw, from this moment you will be known as Softheart. StarClan honors your loyalty and skills, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." He jumped down from the Highledge and placed his muzzle on her head and she licked his shoulder.

"Softheart! Softheart! Softheart!" ThunderClan cheered and Softheart rose her head in happiness.

"Instead of sitting vigil, you will be coming with us to the WindClan battle. Everyone get back to your duties." Bramblestar mewed, smiling at Softheart. He wanted to see her in action even though he very well new how well she fought.

She felt herself shiver in excitement. The Clan disbanded and went back to their duties and Softheart looked up at Bramblestar. "Thank you, Bramblestar. For letting me join ThunderClan and trusting me." She dipped her head respectfully at him.

"With honor I welcome you, Softheart," Bramblestar purred warmly "You're a fine warrior, any Clan would be lucky to have you. I'm glad we're the Clan that gets to have you." Bramblestar's amber eyes flickered away towards where Ivypool was by the medicine den, beckoning him over. "I must go. Thank you, Softheart." He dipped his head and padded away.

She dipped her head back and watched him walk away hurriedly.

Quickly, Softheart padded over to Whitefur and smiled. "I am a warrior again!" she purred and touched her nose to his. "Are you coming on the patrol tonight?"

Whitefur nodded at her. "Yes, I am. I'm glad too. So I can keep you safe," he mewed and smiled warmly at her. His eyes shone in happiness. "Are you ready for tonight? You've never fought WindClan cats before. They're fast."

Softheart met gazes with Whitefur, offering a little smirk at him. "Oh, I'm not worried," she purred at him. "Because I'm faster."

Bramblestar silently padded across the moor, his patrol, consisting of Lionblaze, Mousewhisker, Fernsong, Alderpelt, Breezewhisker, Honeyfur, and Cherryfall, followed after him equally as quiet and stealthy.

Ivypool led the second patrol consisting of Softheart, Whitefur, Sorrelstripe, Ambermoon, Snowbush, Poppyfrost, Birchfall, Cinderheart, and Sparkflower.

Whitefur was beside her, his eyes narrowed as they crept closer to the WindClan camp, Bramblestar's patrol went through the entrance while Ivypool led us to the ridge above the camp and looking down on the camp.

She caught sight of Honeyfur creeping towards a den with Breezewhisker at her side. They slipped into the den and then the camp was loud with yowls of pain as they were attacked in their sleep.

Softheart pressed closer to Whitefur, her fearing racing as she waiting for her deputy to give the signal to attack. Ivypool stared down into the camp, her eyes wide.

"Now!" she hissed and then scrambled down past the brambles and into the camp, the rest of the patrol following after. Whitefur stayed by Softheart's side as they raced down into the clearing.

Now the WindClan cats were out in the clearing, fighting with the ThunderClan cats fiercely. But from where she stood, it was clear the WindClan cats were frail, thin, weak. The ThunderClan cats were stronger and better fighters. This fight was pointless.

"Over there," Whitefur whispered in her ear and she turned her head to see Mousepaw taking down Honeyfur and then looking around for someone else.

She swallowed her fear. _She's not your friend,_ Softheart thought and raced towards Mousepaw, baring her teeth at her. Her mind was racing in excitement and fear. This was her time to prove her loyalty to ThunderClan.

Instantly Mousepaw reacted and jumped at her, but Softheart slid to the side and watched Whitefur hook his claw in her leg and trip her. Softheart jumped on her and pinned her down, drawing blood from her.

"Run!" she hissed and let the apprentice up, watching Mousepaw raced away through the crowd of fighting cats. Softheart hated fighting the little apprentice, but she knew it was her duty. Softheart still considered Mousepaw her friend, which is why she let her run.

A black tom stood in front of them now. A white flash on his chest. He was thin but he had long legs. His amber eyes were narrowed in anger. Then he darted forward over to Whitefur, slicing his claws down his pelt and Whitefur let out a yowl of pain.

Softheart felt her anger grow and watched him raced over towards her. She crouched down and stuck out her paw, letting him trip and crash into the ground. She raced over to him and slashed her claws down his side and ripped out some of his fur. She nipped his shoulder and he whimpered.

"Get out of here, or the next one will hurt worse," she growled and he stood up and raced away at an incredible speed. He was obviously a WindClan cat. She didn't know his name but he seemed familiar, probably from a Gathering.

Whitefur struggled to his paws and looked at Softheart, taking in deep breaths. She could see the blood glistening on his pelt and down his side on his white pelt.

She rushed over to him. "Are you okay?" Softheart asked, looking at the scratch. It wasn't deep but it was long and bleeding a lot. "Don't worry, it's not that bad." She looked back at him to see that he didn't seem concerned at all. "You'll be okay for right now," she mewed unconfidently, almost hearing Whispersong telling her to get cobwebs to cover the wound. But she wasn't a medicine cat.

"I know," he mewed. "I'm fine." He glanced behind her and pointed with his tail. "Look, it seems ThunderClan won easily. Crowstar should've known better." He almost sounded disappointed that they didn't get to teach WindClan a better lesson. But by the looks for things, they did well enough.

She turned around to see Bramblestar standing in front of Crowstar. Most of the WindClan cats had fled from their own camp and the ones who remained couldn't move from where they were laying on the ground, bloody.

"Crowstar, this battle was about you letting your warriors cross the border. ThunderClan has clearly won. Next time you cross the border none of my warriors will take mercy on WindClan," Bramblestar mewed, his amber eyes looking directly at the black leader.

But he didn't seemed concerned. "Well, Bramblestar, unfortunate for you WindClan cats do not take pity on the weak." He flicked his tail and three WindClan cats jumped on Bramblestar and Ivypool, Alderpelt, and Sparkflower raced forward to save him.

Softheart watched, holding her breath, as Ivypool pulled Emberfoot off Bramblestar, Alderpelt yanked back on Nightcloud's tail, and Sparkflower dug her claws into Gorsetail's shoulder and ripped him off Bramblestar.

The ThunderClan leader was laying on the ground, unmoving and he didn't seem to be breathing either. And then his entire body spasmed, he rolled around and then sat up, his amber eyes dull. His neck was bleeding and his fur was wet with his own blood.

"You killed him," Ivypool hissed and looked at Crowstar with anger. She stomped over to him, getting right in his face. "Cross the border again and I will rip out your tongue, Crowstar." She whipped away and lashed her tail. "ThunderClan, get home!"

All of ThunderClan turned and began padding towards the entrance while Ivypool and Alderpelt helped Bramblestar to his paws.

Softheart stuck next to Whitefur, letting him lead her right out of the WindClan camp and into the dark night, where the moon was high in the sky, almost full. Tomorrow night would be the Gathering. She was going. And she'd have to face ShadowClan. She'd have to face Ashpaw.

"Are you ready, Softheart?" Whitefur whispered in her ear beside her. "I'll be with you the entire time." He smiled warmly at her, his green eyes soft and kind.

Softheart shook her head but really, she was terrified. "I can do this." She took a deep breath and looked around at the other ThunderClan cats ready to go to the Gathering: Bramblestar, Ivypool, Gingerleaf, Rosepetal, Ambermoon, Dewnose, Leafpelt, Hollytuft, and Berrynose. And of course Softheart and Whitefur.

"Let's go!" Bramblestar yowled and raced out of the camp, Dewnose to her left and Whitefur to her right as they raced through the forest.

They were heading right to the WindClan border, nearing the lake so the WindClan cats couldn't say they were trespassing. Behind them was the Ancient Oak.

She felt herself growing more and more anxious as they crossed the WindClan border over some stones in the river that separated ThunderClan and WindClan territory.

Bramblestar led them at a fast pace along the water's edge. It was easier to run here than in ThunderClan territory since there was no roots to trip on or anything.

They were about to pass the horseplace when she caught sight of the WindClan cats heading towards them. Crowstar was leading them with his blue eyes full of anger and his black pelt flattened.

"Greeting, Crowstar," Bramblestar mewed, slowing down his pace and nodded at the black leader. "I hope your warriors are healing nicely." He glanced behind him at the WindClan cats.

Softheart glanced at them as well. Gorsetail had a long wound down his side, Oatclaw was limping, Molefur had a torn ear and the other cats weren't looking very good either. The ThunderClan cats looked a lot better.

"Go ahead," Crowstar mewed darkly and Softheart realized they were at the log to cross over to the Island. "We will wait." He sat down and his warriors were gathered behind him, all of them groaning.

Bramblestar let Ivypool and Gingerleaf jumped onto the log and then let Dewnose, Softheart, and Whitefur jumped up behind her.

Softheart dug her claws into the log as she slowly walked across, and then jumped onto the ground, waiting for Whitefur to jump down beside her.

"I'm here," Whitefur whispered softly into her ear, sending shivers down her spine, and led her through the bushes and into the clearing, the large oak tree high in the sky. ShadowClan and RiverClan were already here and her eyes scanned the clearing for a familiar face. "Come on." Whitefur led her to the edge of the clearing and they looked out at all the cats on the Island.

Amber eyes flashed and Softheart turned her head to see a familiar pale gray pelt and her eyes widened, recognizing Ashpaw's pelt. Her head turned and her amber eyes widened as they met gazes.

Her heart jumped into her throat in fear and she gave a small smile to Ashpaw who seemed surprised to see her. _It's time to face her. It's time to face ShadowClan._


	19. Chapter 16: What Are You Up To?

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

 _Ashpaw's eyes widened as she gazed_ into Softheart's familiar green eyes. She couldn't believe her eyes and she nudged Flamewing who turned his head and looked directly at Softheart. His eyes widened in surprise as well. Her heart fluttered in surprise. Her wish had come true for Softheart to be at the Gathering.

"S-Softheart?" Ashpaw stumbled forward towards Softheart and she nodded, the smile on her face widened a little. "What're you doing here? You can't be here! Crowflight will be outraged." She glanced around worriedly, knowing Sunclaw must've saw Softheart already and already thinking about telling Crowflight Her fear rose.

She tilted her head. "No, Ashpaw, you don't understand…" Softheart began and glanced over at the white-furred tom standing next to her. She recognized him as Whitefur of ThunderClan. "I-I'm a ThunderClan warrior now…"

Ashpaw stared at Softheart, unable to speak. Her mind was racing. "Y-You're a ThunderClan cat now?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What do you mean? H-How?" _This isn't possible! Softheart would never be a Thundercat!_ she thought in alarm. Softheart and Ashpaw always made fun of the ThunderClan warriors. Now she was one.

"The Gathering is starting now!" Mistystar yowled loudly from the Great Oak, the other leaders were already on the other branches.

Softheart nodded to the bush at the edge of the clearing and then led Ashpaw to the bush and they slipped inside, settling down quietly to talk.

Her friend spoke quietly so no one new they were hiding and so they didn't disturb the Gathering, "Since Dewnose is my father I joined ThunderClan. Everyone has been very kind to me. Whitefur is my best friend, he's very nice to me." She smiled warmly. "I hope you don't mind that I'm a Thundercat now… And I hope we're still friends." She gave a small worried smile.

"Well… I'm not sure how I feel about it," Ashpaw admitted, still unable to gather her thoughts. "But you're my friend no matter what, Softheart. And if you're happy in ThunderClan than I'm happy for you." She smiled widely at Softheart but she couldn't stop herself from thinking this was a mistake. At least Ashpaw new Softheart was okay.

"...but all of our warriors are healing nicely," Bramblestar was mewing and Softheart nudged Ashpaw out of the bushes. She looked up at the leaders. "ThunderClan has a new warrior: Softheart!"

There were loud cheers from ThunderClan and some small cheers from RiverClan but the other two Clans remained quiet, looking confused and surprised. Ashpaw glanced over to see Whitefur had slipped over to them and was sitting beside Softheart, their tail intertwined. She'd thought Softheart and Raindusk or Springleap would become mates but that was against the warrior code now. She and Whitefur seemed happy together, however.

Beestar was looking down at Softheart with sad eyes. She was doing a lot better. "Sleekfeather has passed away and she now runs with StarClan…" Beestar looked up at the sky sadly, as if searching for Sleekfeather.

"Sleekfeather is dead?" Softheart turned to Ashpaw with wide eyes. "H-How?"

Ashpaw dug her claws into the ground, remembering stumbling upon her lifeless body in the woods. Blood clogged her senses and covered the ground around her. Ashpaw shivered in fear as she remembered. "She went the same way the others went…" She shivered in fear. Someone was killing off cats in ShadowClan. Maybe it was best that Softheart was a ThunderClan cat now.

"ShadowClan, let's go!" Beestar yowled, her eyes trained on Ashpaw and Softheart. Her eyes were unreadable but Ashpaw knew Beestar wished Softheart could come back to ShadowClan.

Ashpaw gave a small smile to Softheart. "I'll see you around then, I guess." And then she whisked away, watching Beestar jump onto the log with Ravenclaw following. Oakstorm was beside her with a frown.

"I saw you talking to Softheart. I'm glad she's okay," Oakstorm whispered to her and then she jumped onto the log, digging her claws deep into the soggy wood and hearing Oakstorm jumped up behind her.

Once she touched the ground she waited for her friend. "She's a Thundercat now," Softheart whispered and watched Whispersong rushed up to the as they began padding back to ShadowClan territory. "Did you see your daughter?"

Whispersong nodded, looking like she was going to throw up. "A ThunderClan warrior now. Crowflight will be furious." She lashed her tail as they continued padding through RiverClan territory, hearing the rushing river ahead. "But Softheart seems happy with Whitefur. I'm glad she has someone as kind as him. And Dewnose is definitely taking care of him." Whispersong gave a fake smile. She clearly missed her daughter.

Crowflight had pretty much everyone under his command now. Beside Beestar and Ravenclaw, but they didn't have a clue. Beestar had banned him from all future Gatherings so instead Crowflight sent Sunclaw, who'd been flying under the radar and was being a good ShadowClan warrior so she could go where Crowflight couldn't.

She suspected Crowflight was behind the recent killings of cats, but she wasn't sure why. Or how. Her father would never hurt another cat. But it seemed to be a lie now, considering he threatened everyone into doing whatever he wanted.

They padded over to the rocks to cross the river and Ashpaw watched Beestar, Ravenclaw, Whispersong, and Sunclaw cross before getting ready to jump on the first rock after Sunclaw.

"Deep breaths, Ashpaw. You've done this before and you can do it now," Oakstorm whispered in her ear and then stepped back, letting her jump onto the first rock.

Ashpaw wobbled a little but easily gained her balance before jumping onto the second rock and watched Sunclaw jump onto the bank and continue on. Ashpaw jumped onto the last rock and then jumped onto the river bank, moving over so Oakstorm could jump beside her and then they carried on.

"I'm glad Softheart is away from ShadowClan right now. We're a complete mess and I would rather her not get targeted by Crowflight to kill," Ashpaw mewed quietly, watching Sunclaw walk by herself as they neared the greenleaf twolegplace on RiverClan's territory.

Suddenly, the yellow she-cat turned around and looked right at Ashpaw. A smile appeared on her face and then she continued on, leaving Ashpaw completely frightened.

"Ashpaw, if you want to pass your warrior assignment tomorrow than you need to focus!" her small white mentor growled, pacing in front of her. Snowmask's green eyes were lit up in excitement.

She nodded at her mentor, already knowing all of this. Ashpaw wanted to spend as much time away from Crowflight and Sunclaw as possible. It seemed her father had picked a new mate. She didn't want to be anywhere near them. So she continued to act dumbfounded when it came to hunting, but she already knew she could hunt better than Snowmask.

Her mentor whipped towards her, glaring. "Do you even want to be a warrior, Ashpaw?"

Ashpaw was taken by surprise. "Of course I do! Why else would I have joined ShadowClan, Snowmask?" Her tail lashed in anger. Maybe it was time to give up her charade before Snowmask called off her warrior assignment.

Snowmask scoffed. "The question is actually why would you still be here if you didn't want to be a warrior. I mean, with your father pretty much taking ShadowClan over…" Snowmask shook her head, as if thinking. There was nothing she could do to stop Ashpaw's father.

"That's why I'm not showing you how well I can hunt, actually," Ashpaw confessed and Snowmask looked at her with confusion. "I want to stay as far away from Crowflight as possible."

Her mentor chuckled, her green eyes lighting up in amusement now. "Of course, I should've figured. But Ashpaw, I would really like to see how much you've progressed since you joined ShadowClan. So please…" Snowmask flicked her tail for Ashpaw to show her and then sat down.

Ashpaw quivered in excitement. She'd finally get to show someone her skills. She raced forward towards her mentor and dived over her, using her claws to cling to the tree behind Snowmask and quickly climbed to the first branch of the pine tree, silently running along it to where she had earlier spotted a crow perched up on the third branch.

Silently, she landed in the crow's tree and looked up at it, taking in a deep breath she shook the entire tree and watched the crow instantly take flight and Ashpaw waited until it was just her height and jumped out of the tree and hooked her claw right into it's wing. She brung it to the ground and neatly killed it with a blow to the neck.

"That was impressive." Snowmask seemed just as surprised as Ashpaw as Beestar slithered out of the bushes, smiling warmly. "You are a true warrior, Ashpaw."

She felt herself heat up with embarrassment and then dipped her head to Beestar respectfully. "Thank you, Beestar." She returned the smile warmly. "I'm confident that I will pass my assignment tomorrow."

Beestar shook her head. "No, you already passed your assignment, Ashpaw. Come on," she purred and led the way around the edge of the camp while Ashpaw carried her crow proudly. She deserved this. "I call a Clan meeting!" She jumped onto the hazel branch.

The Clan slowly began to gather, looking at each other in confusion. They weren't expecting this meeting. She could see Crowflight looking at her from where he was laying outside the warrior's den. His stare made her shiver in fear but she turned her attention back to Beestar who beckoned her forward.

Ashpaw stepped forward so she was standing out from the rest of the gathered cats. "I, Beestar, leader of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Ashpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Beestar mewed loudly, looking down at her proudly.

"I do," Ashpaw purred proudly and Beestar jumped down in front of her.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Ashpaw, from this moment you will be known as Ashcloud. StarClan honors your independence, intelligence, and strength and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan," Beestar mewed and rested her muzzle on Ashcloud's head and she licked her shoulder. "In honor of ShadowClan and StarClan, Ashcloud will sit vigil tonight."

Ashcloud felt her excitement bursting and she moved to the middle of the clearing while everyone slowly broke apart.

"Actually, I have an announcement!" Crowflight mewed, jumping onto the hazel branch. Ashcloud was surprised. "Sunclaw is expecting my kits!" he purred and Sunclaw smiled from underneath the hazel branch. "She will be joining Lionfur in the nursery."

She felt her fear grow a little as she gazed at her father. She knew Sunclaw had a past of violence and following under Lionfur when she was drunk with power but this is odd. _Sunclaw as your mate, Crowflight? What're you up to?_


	20. Chapter 17: Don't Forget About Me

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

 _Gray storm clouds covered the sun,_ causing the forest to go very dark. The birds weren't chirping, the mice weren't sniffing around, and the wind was blowing hard. Everything was quiet besides the tree leaves blowing in the wind. It was peaceful and yet something felt eerie and off. Yet she couldn't imagine today being in anyway upsetting.

"Softheart, it's going to rain hard very soon," Whitefur mewed softly, looking at her with his green eyes so warm. So gentle and kind. "We should get back to camp…" He seemed a little out of it today, like something was wrong.

But she sniffed the air, smelling the rain. Her eyes flickered away from Whitefur and to the lake where the water washed up almost to where she sat. It didn't touch her paws though. A part of her wanted to jump in the lake and swim all the way back to ShadowClan, but she knew that she was better off in ThunderClan. With Whitefur.

"I know, Whitefur," she responded softly, her fear was high in her chest and she didn't know why. "I feel like something bad is about to happen." She scanned the other territories: ShadowClan, WindClan, and RiverClan. They seemed peaceful as well but she couldn't shake this bad feeling.

Whitefur sighed softly. "Everything is going to be okay, Softheart. You needn't worry." He set his fluffy white tail on her back and rubbed it, as if reassuring her. "It's getting dark, let's get back to camp."

She looked up at the sky and felt the raindrops on her fur. Normally she wouldn't like the water, but something was different today. Softheart wanted to race into the unclaimed territory with Whitefur at her side. But she couldn't get Ashpaw out of her mind. She missed her ShadowClan friends. She missed ShadowClan.

In the distance she saw lightning light up the sky. She shivered in fear. The last place she wanted to be was ThunderClan camp.

Whitefur stood up, ready to trek back to camp. "Go without me," she ordered, taking in a deep breath as the rain got harder. "I wish to be alone."

The white warrior seemed concerned and hesitant. "Are you okay?"

Softheart shrugged but offered him a little smile. "I'm okay. I just need some time to think. I'll be back before dusk, okay?"

He nodded, still seeming hesitant. His green eyes shone in trust and it warmed Softheart's body. "Come back soon." He touched his nose to her cheek and then paused, looking at her deeply. "I love you. Softheart."

Her breath caught in her throat as she turned her head to gaze into his green eyes. "I love you too, Whitefur," she purred happily and touched their noses before turning to the lake again, hearing him pad away over the rain that was coming down hard.

It was almost like she was back in ShadowClan with Ashpaw. She missed her mother as well. But with Crowflight still there, the last thing she wanted was to go back. She couldn't go back. Whitefur and Dewnose needed her. And she needed them.

The sky lit up as lightning flashed again and she looked down at her paws, sighing. _I should get back before Dewnose starts to freak out that Whitefur left me alone. He still has a problem with Whitefur for some reason,_ she thought and rolled her eyes, holding in a chuckle at her thought. Softheart rose to her paws, gazing across the lake to her real home. ShadowClan.

But what she saw startled her. It was a red hot light, engulfing the ShadowClan camp. Although she'd never seen it with her own eyes, she'd heard many stories about fire taking lives and destroying camps. Now it was destroying ShadowClan's camp. Her camp.

Without thinking, Softheart jumped to action and raced right towards the ShadowClan border, passing by the halfbridge and pushing forward, feeling her legs start to burn. She didn't even stop as she crossed over the twoleg path and right into ShadowClan territory, barely being able to see anything, recognizing her former territory easily. She raced right for the camp, remembering how close it was to ThunderClan's border.

The smoke hit her hard but she just pushed on until she was rounding the camp and seeing Oakstorm and Ashpaw stumble out, coughing heavily and heaving for breath.

"Is everyone out?" Softheart asked, squinting through the thick smoke to look at her friend.

Ashpaw looked at Softheart with wide eyes. Ashpaw was definitely surprised to see Softheart. It felt like ages before she responded, "No! Lionfur and her kits are still in the nursery!"

Softheart nodded firmly and sucked in a deep breath before bolting around them and racing right into the camp. The fire started at the tree near the back of the camp but it had made it to the warriors den. She crouched down below the smoke, taking in deep breaths and coughing a whole lot. Her chest felt compressed and her eyes watered up from the smoke.

Finally, she'd made it to the nursery and then Softheart rose to her paws, racing inside the nursery and looking around for Lionfur's yellow fur.

Sure enough, Lionfur was crouched at the back of the den, hovering over her kits, trying to protect them.

"Give me one!" Softheart ordered and Lionfur froze, looking at Softheart before nodding and nudging Thunderkit over to her. Softheart grabbed Thunderkit's scruff tightly. "Follow me!" she ordered and watched the queen grab Lionkit before Softheart darted out of the den and crouched down low again, careful to keep Thunderkit under the smoke. She, however, was just inhaling smoke. It was choking her but she continued on, pushing back her watery eyes as they slipped out of camp and Softheart followed Ashpaw's scent trail.

They raced through the pines blindly, Softheart careful to keep Thunderkit high in the air so he didn't get stuck on anything. She dodged trees and bushes, feeling her legs shaking. She needed to get the queen and the kits safe. They weren't far enough away yet.

Her paw connected with a root and she collapsed to the ground, wrapping herself around Thunderkit and feeling the wet ground sticking to her fur. Softheart went limp, wrapped around Thunderkit tightly and gasping for breath. She couldn't breathe, the smoke seemed to be around her still, choking her.

Lionfur set down Lionkit and raced over to Softheart. "Help!" Lionfur screeched. "Help us! Please!"

She could hear paws pounding on the ground and moved her head a little to see Whispersong, Beestar, Ashpaw, Oakstorm, and Whitefur racing towards her. She could see their lips moving furiously, they seemed to be arguing. None of them seemed to be mad at Softheart or Whitefur for being on ShadowClan territory.

"It's okay, my kit," Whispersong purred and pressed her nose against her fur. Whitefur licked her forehead, purring something to her in a soft voice, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. Her entire body felt cold, and nothing seemed to be working correctly.

Softheart was confused and she could feel tears in her eyes as she gazed at Whitefur. "I-" She erupted into a coughing fit and gasped for breath. Softheart knew she was dying.

Whispersong touched her nose to Softheart's and they all gazed at Softheart with soft, sad eyes.

"A-Are the kits okay?" Softheart managed to rasp and Whispersong shook her head, telling her they were. "Good." She closed her eyes tightly, feeling her accomplishment wash over her. She had done it. Thunderkit, Lionkit, and Lionfur were okay thanks to her. She coughed some more and her whole body shook. "I want to be buried on the border of ThunderClan and ShadowClan," she rasped, looking into Ashpaw's amber eyes and then looking into the eyes of her mate, Whitefur. "Don't forget about me."


	21. Chapter 18: You'll Never Be Alone

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

 _Whitefur stood beside Softheart's grave, holding_ back his tears. Ashcloud let her fur brush Oakstorm's as she gazed down at the ground where they had buried her friend. Dewnose and Whispersong sat side-by-side with their pelt brushing. No one said a word.

Ashcloud didn't hold back her tears, however. She had died from smoke inhalation after saving Lionfur and her kits. Oakstorm comforted her, whispering into her ear about how Softheart would want her to be happy, but Ashcloud felt her heart break in two. Softheart didn't need to go out like this. It was Crowflight's fault. And he wasn't even here.

"Come on, Ashcloud. Let's get back to camp," Oakstorm urged quietly, being careful not to disturb the other grievers. "Softheart runs with StarClan now. She's safe and happy. She'd want you to be too."

She nodded at Oakstorm, turning away from Softheart's grave, feeling herself shake. What would she do without Softheart? She may have not been a ShadowClan warrior but at least Ashcloud knew she was living and breathing.

They slipped into camp and Ashcloud scanned the clearing, seeing her father sitting in the shade under the hazel branch. Most of the dens were destroyed from the fire beside the elder's den. Duckpelt, Flamewing, and Frostlight were repairing the warrior's den.

Beestar was laying outside her den, watching the Clan with some singed fur on her shoulder. She looked exhausted and her eyes were full of sadness. She seemed to be blankly staring at the Clan. What was wrong with her?

Ashcloud flicked her tail at Oakstorm and padded over to Beestar, tilting her head curiously. "Are you okay Beestar?" Secretly, Ashcloud knew that Beestar wasn't really the Clan leader anymore, Crowflight was. But not officially. Beestar nor Ravenclaw new of Crowflight's take over.

"No, Ashcloud. Everything's not okay," Beestar mewed and blinked slowly, looking up at Ashcloud with sadness. "I know about Crowflight practically taking over ShadowClan. I don't even matter. I'm not even ShadowClan's leader anymore." She shook her head slowly, the sadness deepening. "I don't know what to do, Ashcloud…"

She blinked a few times, looking at her old leader. "No, Beestar. You're the roots of ShadowClan." Ashcloud took a deep breath. "Well there's a few things you can do: Exile him, make him an apprentice again, or confront him," she mewed unconfidently, a little uncomfortable with any of those options happening to her father, even though he was a terrible warrior.

"Crowflight is a good warrior, he's just use to having all the power," Beestar mewed slowly, her eyes darting to the black warrior who was relaxing under the hazel branch with Sunclaw beside him. "I should put him in his place." She struggled to her paws, her eyes locked onto Crowflight. "Crowflight, I need to speak with you!" she called.

The black warrior looked at her curiously, mumbled something to Sunclaw, and then padded over to Beestar. They slipped into Beestar's den and then it was silent.

Ashcloud felt her fur prickling as she padded away, her eyes meeting with their medicine cat, Whispersong. She paused and watched Whispersong pad over to her from her den, her eyes full of sadness.

"How're you feeling?" Whispersong mewed quietly, looking Ashcloud over with interest. "Not just with Softheart's death but with…" She nodded to her stomach.

She was startled. "What do you mean?" Ashcloud looked down at her stomach in concern. "Am I bleeding?"

Whispersong blinked in confusion at Ashcloud. "You mean you don't know?" She snapped her jaws shut and shook her head. "You're expecting kits, Ashcloud."

"What?!" Ashcloud mewed and jumped backwards. "I am?" Her eyes met Whispersong's green eyes. "Oh my StarClan… Oakstorm will be overjoyed!" Her eyes were shining with excitement. She felt her paws itching to race to Oakstorm.

"He's in the warrior's den," Whispersong purred and tilted her head as Ashcloud raced around her and to the warriors den.

Sure enough, Oakstorm was laying in his nest talking to Raindusk. They were the only two in the half of the den. Both of them looked at her.

"Oakstorm," she began, smiling to his littermate, "we're expecting kits." She watched his amber eyes light up in excitement.

He jumped to his paws. "Really?" He looked down at her belly and raced over to her. "Holy StarClan!" he purred and licked her muzzle. "We must get you to the nursery right away!" He waved his tail at his brother and nudged her out of the den.

Ashcloud's heart skipped a beat. The nursery. Where Lionfur and Sunclaw will be. _Oh dear StarClan…_ she thought but just smiled, following him towards the burned up nursery that Fallenpine, Hollypath, and Dovesong were working on repairing.

Lionfur sat up in her nest when they entered, her two kits glanced over at us but they said nothing, only watching silently as Oakstorm nudged her into a nest.

"I'll go inform Beestar!" He turned away, smiling to the other queen, and then exiting the den.

"You are expecting kits then?" Lionfur mewed, eyeing Ashcloud curiously. "Congratulations. Being a mother is perhaps the best thing that's happened to me." She smiled down at Thunderkit and Lionkit who were staring at Ashcloud.

She purposely avoided Lionfur's judging amber eyes. "Yes, I am." When she looked up Lionfur was still looking at her. They met gazes. There was something there, something Lionfur was telling her without actually saying. Lionfur was afraid. "It's Crowflight, isn't it? All the cats dying?"

Instead of Lionfur getting angry, she looked relieved. "He's threatening my kits, Ashcloud." She shook her head and watched her kits blink innocently. "He's making us do his dirty deeds. I'm afraid, Ashcloud." Her eyes closed tightly. "He convinced Sunclaw to have his kits by threatening her littermates and father." Lionfur looked at Ashcloud in worry.

"Beestar is handling him, Lionfur." She couldn't believe what her father had turned into. "I'm not sure what she's doing, but it'll be okay." Ashcloud took in a deep breath, knowing she'd feel the same way if her kits were in danger. She couldn't wait to be a mother.

Sunclaw entered the den, giving a small smile to Lionfur but not even acknowledging Ashcloud as she flopped into her nest, her large stomach looked ready to burst with kits. She'd be due very soon.

Ashcloud smiled at both queens, surprising herself at her burst of joy. Then she looked down at her stomach that wasn't that big yet. _Don't worry kits, Oakstorm and I will protect you from any harm. I will be so proud to be your mother. ShadowClan is the best Clan and I can't wait to watch you grow up. You will never be alone._

 **THE END**

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Thank you all for reading! Look out for the next book, **The Fierce Crusade**. I've already started writing it and the first chapter will be posted soon, so keep an eye out for it. Once again, thank you all for reading, for your support, and for your reviews!


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